--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of course I constantly despair at my own…" description: "\"Of course I constantly despair at my own incapacity, at the impossibility of ever accomplishing anything, of painting a valid, true picture or even kno..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ee/gerhard-richter-2249_accomplishing-anythi_of-course-i-constantly-despair-at-my-own_2730722.jpg" --- # Of course I constantly despair at my own incapacity, at… ![“Of course I constantly despair at my own incapacity, at the impossibility of ever accomplishing anything, of painting a valid, true picture or even knowing what such a thing ought to look like. But then I always have the hope that, if I persevere, it might one day happen. And this hope is nurtured…” quote by Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ee/gerhard-richter-2249_accomplishing-anythi_of-course-i-constantly-despair-at-my-own_2730722.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ee/gerhard-richter-2249_accomplishing-anythi_of-course-i-constantly-despair-at-my-own_2730722.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ee/gerhard-richter-2249_accomplishing-anythi_of-course-i-constantly-despair-at-my-own_2730722.jpg) > “Of course I constantly despair at my own incapacity, at the impossibility of ever accomplishing anything, of painting a valid, true picture or even knowing what such a thing ought to look like. But then I always have the hope that, if I persevere, it might one day happen. And this hope is nurtured every time something appears, a scattered, partial, initial hint of something which reminds me of what I long for, or which conveys a hint of it – although often enough I have been fooled by a momentary glimpse that then vanishes, leaving behind only the usual thing.” [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist feels chronic self‑doubt but clings to hope sparked by fleeting insights. **In simple terms:** Self‑doubt meets hope from small hints. Key Takeaway Nurture hope despite insecurity. Themes creativity self‑criticism hope Mood introspective optimistic Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - writing - creative projects Key Concepts artistic process psychology Questions to Reflect On - What small signs inspire you? - How do you handle doubt? A Different Perspective Hope can be fragile. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplishing anything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishing-anything/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Impossibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossibility/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [Sunshine beyond darkness, is a hope nurtured in Adversity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santanu-mishra/sunshine-beyond-darkness-is-a-hope-nurtured-in-adversity/) [Santanu Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santanu-mishra/) > [“Love is enough. Love does conquer all. Love really does always protect, trust, hope, persevere...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willow-aster/love-is-enough-love-does-conquer-all-love-really-does-always-protect-2/) [Willow Aster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willow-aster/) > [“Whether you’re the researcher, the health-care professional, the family member, the friend, the person with Parkinson’s, persevere … our journey together may very well be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-palfreman/whether-you-re-the-researcher-the-health-care-professional-the-family/) Jon Palfreman > [This superficial blurring has something to do with the incapacity I have just mentioned. I can make no statement about reality clearer than my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/this-superficial-blurring-has-something-to-do-with-the-incapacity-i/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [We can stop struggling with what occurs and see its true face without calling it the enemy. It helps to remember that our spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/we-can-stop-struggling-with-what-occurs-and-see-its-true-face-without/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [This war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/this-war-is-lost-and-the-surge-is-not-accomplishing-anything/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [With a positive attitude, you can be anything you want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena/with-a-positive-attitude-you-can-be-anything-you-want-to-be/) [Selena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena/) > [It's amazing what you can accomplish if you simply refuse to quit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porter-stansberry/it-s-amazing-what-you-can-accomplish-if-you-simply-refuse-to-quit/) [Porter Stansberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porter-stansberry/) > [You can have anything you want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/you-can-have-anything-you-want/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [Why bother lifting weights if you aren't following a sound nutritional regimen? Sure, it may be fun, but are you really accomplishing anything?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cheeke/why-bother-lifting-weights-if-you-aren-t-following-a-sound/) [Robert Cheeke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cheeke/) > [I'm a firm believer in goal setting. Step by step. I can't see any other way of accomplishing anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-m-a-firm-believer-in-goal-setting-step-by-step-i-can-t-see-any/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [You can have anything you want, if you want it badly enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/you-can-have-anything-you-want-if-you-want-it-badly-enough/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I cry secretly. I don't really cry in front of anybody. I hate crying. I feel like it's not accomplishing anything. But when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/i-cry-secretly-i-don-t-really-cry-in-front-of-anybody-i-hate-crying-i/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [You must distinguish between what is urgent and what is important. You could accomplish all of the urgent things that you desire without accomplishing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/you-must-distinguish-between-what-is-urgent-and-what-is-important-you/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-lombardi/i-think-you-can-accomplish-anything-if-you-re-willing-to-pay-the-price/) [Vince Lombardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-lombardi/) ## More by Gerhard Richter > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [They are specific places I have discovered here and there when I am on the road to take photos. I go especially to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/they-are-specific-places-i-have-discovered-here-and-there-when-i-am/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [To me, grey is the welcome and only possible equivalent for indifference, noncommitment, absence of opinion, absence of shape. But grey, like formlessness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/to-me-grey-is-the-welcome-and-only-possible-equivalent-for/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Now that we do not have priests and philosophers any more, artists are the most important people in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/now-that-we-do-not-have-priests-and-philosophers-any-more-artists-are/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Yes, we were amazed when that happened. It was a real joke to us. Konrad Lueg and I did a Happening, and we used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/yes-we-were-amazed-when-that-happened-it-was-a-real-joke-to-us-konrad/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it's a prerequisite. But I needed the greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/a-work-of-art-is-itself-an-object-first-of-all-and-so-manipulation-is/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [The photograph is the only picture that can truly convey information, even if it is technically faulty and the object can barely be identified.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/the-photograph-is-the-only-picture-that-can-truly-convey-information/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Perhaps the choice is a negative one, in that I was trying to avoid everything that touched on well-known issues - or any issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/perhaps-the-choice-is-a-negative-one-in-that-i-was-trying-to-avoid/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Gray is the color... the most important of all... absent of opinion, nothing, neither/nor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/gray-is-the-color-the-most-important-of-all-absent-of-opinion-nothing/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [All photographs are far more important than any painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/all-photographs-are-far-more-important-than-any-painting/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [You can compare it to dreams: you have a very specific and individual pictorial language that you either accept or that you can translate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/you-can-compare-it-to-dreams-you-have-a-very-specific-and-individual/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [What attracted me about my mirrors was the idea of having nothing manipulated in them. A piece of bought mirror. Just hung there, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/what-attracted-me-about-my-mirrors-was-the-idea-of-having-nothing/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [But it is also untrue that I have nothing specific in mind. As with my landscapes: I see countless landscapes, photograph barely 1 in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/but-it-is-also-untrue-that-i-have-nothing-specific-in-mind-as-with-my/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [My landscapes are not only beautiful or nostalgic, with a Romantic or classical suggestion of lost Paradises, but above all 'untruthful'...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/my-landscapes-are-not-only-beautiful-or-nostalgic-with-a-romantic-or/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [I have always been structured. What has changed is the proportions. Now it is eight hours of paperwork and one of painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/i-have-always-been-structured-what-has-changed-is-the-proportions-now/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) [Explore all 176 Gerhard Richter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) ## More Accomplishing anything quotes > [I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-lombardi/i-think-you-can-accomplish-anything-if-you-re-willing-to-pay-the-price/) [Vince Lombardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-lombardi/) > [This war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/this-war-is-lost-and-the-surge-is-not-accomplishing-anything/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [I'm a firm believer in goal setting. Step by step. I can't see any other way of accomplishing anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-m-a-firm-believer-in-goal-setting-step-by-step-i-can-t-see-any/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [You must distinguish between what is urgent and what is important. You could accomplish all of the urgent things that you desire without accomplishing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/you-must-distinguish-between-what-is-urgent-and-what-is-important-you/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [I cry secretly. I don't really cry in front of anybody. I hate crying. I feel like it's not accomplishing anything. But when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/i-cry-secretly-i-don-t-really-cry-in-front-of-anybody-i-hate-crying-i/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [You can have anything you want, if you want it badly enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/you-can-have-anything-you-want-if-you-want-it-badly-enough/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Why bother lifting weights if you aren't following a sound nutritional regimen? Sure, it may be fun, but are you really accomplishing anything?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cheeke/why-bother-lifting-weights-if-you-aren-t-following-a-sound/) [Robert Cheeke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cheeke/) > [You can have anything you want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/you-can-have-anything-you-want/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [It's amazing what you can accomplish if you simply refuse to quit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porter-stansberry/it-s-amazing-what-you-can-accomplish-if-you-simply-refuse-to-quit/) [Porter Stansberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porter-stansberry/) > [With a positive attitude, you can be anything you want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena/with-a-positive-attitude-you-can-be-anything-you-want-to-be/) [Selena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena/) > [We can stop struggling with what occurs and see its true face without calling it the enemy. It helps to remember that our spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/we-can-stop-struggling-with-what-occurs-and-see-its-true-face-without/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [It's amazing how much credit you can take, if you don't care about accomplishing anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-stanton-evans/it-s-amazing-how-much-credit-you-can-take-if-you-don-t-care-about/) [M. Stanton Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-stanton-evans/) > [I believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense and - you have to make your own decisions as to what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/i-believe-myself-that-the-secretary-of-state-secretary-of-defense-and/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) [Browse all 14 Accomplishing anything quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishing-anything/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of course I constantly despair at my own incapacity, at the impossibility of ever accomplishing anything, of painting a valid, true picture or even knowing what such a thing ought to look like. But then I always have the hope that, if I persevere, it might one day happen. 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