--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The desire to please is maligned…" description: "\"The desire to please is maligned, unfairly. There are many sides to it. First of all, pictures have to arouse interest before people will even look at ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/gerhard-richter-2249_art_the-desire-to-please-is-maligned-unfairl_781293.jpg" --- # The desire to please is maligned, unfairly. There are many… ![“The desire to please is maligned, unfairly. There are many sides to it. First of all, pictures have to arouse interest before people will even look at them, and then they have to show something that holds that interst - and naturally they have to be presentable, just as a song has to be sung well…” quote by Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/gerhard-richter-2249_art_the-desire-to-please-is-maligned-unfairl_781293.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/gerhard-richter-2249_art_the-desire-to-please-is-maligned-unfairl_781293.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/gerhard-richter-2249_art_the-desire-to-please-is-maligned-unfairl_781293.jpg) > “The desire to please is maligned, unfairly. There are many sides to it. First of all, pictures have to arouse interest before people will even look at them, and then they have to show something that holds that interst - and naturally they have to be presentable, just as a song has to be sung well, otherwise people run away. One mustn't underrate this quality, and I have always been delighted when my pieces have also appealed to the museum guards, the laymen.” [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 quote argues that appealing to audiences, even casual ones, is essential and often undervalued in art and media. **In simple terms:** Appealing to viewers matters, even to non‑experts. Key Takeaway Value and craft work that engages all viewers. Themes art audience communication perception marketing Mood reflective analytical Type artistic critical When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - advertising campaigns - social media posts - public installations Key Concepts aesthetic appeal visual rhetoric public engagement Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance authenticity with audience expectations? - When is it acceptable to prioritize appeal over depth? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on appeal can dilute artistic integrity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Museums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/museums/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Running away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running-away/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Wise people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-people/) ## Related quotes > [Any one who is much talked of be much maligned. This seems to be a harsh conclusion; but when you consider how much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-helps/any-one-who-is-much-talked-of-be-much-maligned-this-seems-to-be-a/) [Arthur Helps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-helps/) > ['Unjustly Maligned' is a neat idea for a podcast. Antony Johnston invites a believer to make the case for a cultural artefact that consensus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hepworth/unjustly-maligned-is-a-neat-idea-for-a-podcast-antony-johnston/) [David Hepworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hepworth/) > [If you hang around people from L.A., they're, like, used to having their city being maligned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-chandrasekhar/if-you-hang-around-people-from-l-a-they-re-like-used-to-having-their/) [Jay Chandrasekhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-chandrasekhar/) > [No other group (traditional Christians) is so consistently maligned on prime-time television. These defamatory portrayals betray a deep-seated hostility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-feder/no-other-group-traditional-christians-is-so-consistently-maligned-on/) [Don Feder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-feder/) > [The more I learned about Shoeless Joe, the more I felt he was maligned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-b-sweeney/the-more-i-learned-about-shoeless-joe-the-more-i-felt-he-was-maligned/) [D. B. Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-b-sweeney/) > [And now I know him, I think he's been much maligned. He's a great guy. 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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. 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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 Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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