--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The photograph is the most perfect…" description: "\"The photograph is the most perfect picture. It does not change; it is absolute, and therefore autonomous, unconditional, devoid of style. Both in its w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/gerhard-richter-2249_absolutes_the-photograph-is-the-most-perfect-pictu_1183987.jpg" --- # The photograph is the most perfect picture. It does not… ![“The photograph is the most perfect picture. It does not change; it is absolute, and therefore autonomous, unconditional, devoid of style. Both in its way of informing, and in what it informs of, it is my source.” quote by Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/gerhard-richter-2249_absolutes_the-photograph-is-the-most-perfect-pictu_1183987.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/gerhard-richter-2249_absolutes_the-photograph-is-the-most-perfect-pictu_1183987.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/gerhard-richter-2249_absolutes_the-photograph-is-the-most-perfect-pictu_1183987.jpg) > “The photograph is the most perfect picture. It does not change; it is absolute, and therefore autonomous, unconditional, devoid of style. Both in its way of informing, and in what it informs of, it is my source.” [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. A photograph captures a moment that remains unchanged, offering an absolute, autonomous record free from stylistic influence **In simple terms:** Photos are unalterable, objective records Key Takeaway Value the factual integrity of images Themes art perception truth objectivity Mood reflective analytical critical Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - archival work - journalism - legal evidence - personal memory Key Concepts visual culture philosophy of representation media studies Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do photographers have? - How does context alter a photo’s meaning? A Different Perspective Images can be manipulated despite their perceived objectivity ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Autonomous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomous/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) ## Related quotes > [1 picture holds the truth in a court of law, but 1 picture does not hold the truth you may be seeking. All these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/1-picture-holds-the-truth-in-a-court-of-law-but-1-picture-does-not/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [When you put a big budget into a film, it doesn't necessarily mean it will be a better picture, but it does help in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-harryhausen/when-you-put-a-big-budget-into-a-film-it-doesn-t-necessarily-mean-it/) [Ray Harryhausen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-harryhausen/) > [A picture does a great job, but it's not nearly like being there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/a-picture-does-a-great-job-but-it-s-not-nearly-like-being-there/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [I think what messes us up the most is that we have this perfect picture in our heads of what it's supposed to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-what-messes-us-up-the-most-is-that-we-have-this-perfect/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have the perfect picture of you in my mind, the question is: when am I going to meet you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-the-perfect-picture-of-you-in-my-mind-the-question-is-when-am/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Any1 can use photoshop to make a perfect picture, but no1 can use photoshop for there ugly personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh/any1-can-use-photoshop-to-make-a-perfect-picture-but-no1-can-use/) [Rajesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh/) > [Like photos in my mind, you the vision in my dreams, and what I see is perfect, I picture you my queen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maino/like-photos-in-my-mind-you-the-vision-in-my-dreams-and-what-i-see-is/) [Maino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maino/) > [There is no such thing as the perfect picture. That's the challenge of photography. I was always striving for perfection, even though I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-stern/there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-perfect-picture-that-s-the-challenge-of/) [Phil Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-stern/) > [Picture perfect, I paint a perfect picture bomb the hoochies wit' precision, my intentions to get richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/picture-perfect-i-paint-a-perfect-picture-bomb-the-hoochies-wit/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [I've learned that the perfect picture that I hold in my mind of what my life looks like is constantly changing, growing, evolving. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-allyn-baker/i-ve-learned-that-the-perfect-picture-that-i-hold-in-my-mind-of-what/) [Leigh-Allyn Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-allyn-baker/) > [My ambition was always to be a perfect picture of an American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kirby/my-ambition-was-always-to-be-a-perfect-picture-of-an-american/) [Jack Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kirby/) > [Often their rage erupts because they believe that all ways of looking that highlight difference subvert the liberal belief in a universal subjectivity (we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/often-their-rage-erupts-because-they-believe-that-all-ways-of-looking/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [What you believe about the future shapes, informs, and determines how you live now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bell/what-you-believe-about-the-future-shapes-informs-and-determines-how/) [Rob Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bell/) > [I love the melodies in the Old Testament, how preachers highlight them when they read from the Scripture. But I was influenced forever by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-love-the-melodies-in-the-old-testament-how-preachers-highlight-them/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) ## 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 Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [ Their \[the U.S.’s\] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolute-figures-is-almost-25-times/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) Christy Nockels > [Those are decisions only the Lord will make. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. 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