--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Communication has always been at the…" description: "\"Communication has always been at the service of power. Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel for the Pope. Is it not an advertisement for the Church?..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/oliviero-toscani-35304_advertisements_communication-has-always-been-at-the-ser_1576812.jpg" --- # Communication has always been at the service of power… ![“Communication has always been at the service of power. Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel for the Pope. Is it not an advertisement for the Church? I try to make the best pictures I can and sometimes they are used in advertising campaigns.” quote by Oliviero Toscani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/oliviero-toscani-35304_advertisements_communication-has-always-been-at-the-ser_1576812.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/oliviero-toscani-35304_advertisements_communication-has-always-been-at-the-ser_1576812.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/oliviero-toscani-35304_advertisements_communication-has-always-been-at-the-ser_1576812.jpg) > “Communication has always been at the service of power. Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel for the Pope. Is it not an advertisement for the Church? I try to make the best pictures I can and sometimes they are used in advertising campaigns.” [Oliviero Toscani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliviero-toscani/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art and photography often serve power structures, yet creators can reclaim agency by producing work that challenges or subverts those narratives. **In simple terms:** Art can both support and resist power. Key Takeaway Create work that questions authority. Themes art power media influence advertising creative responsibility Mood critical inquisitive Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - marketing campaigns - public installations - social commentary Key Concepts cultural critique visual rhetoric ethical art Questions to Reflect On - How can artists ensure their message isn’t co‑opted? - What responsibilities do creators have when their work is used commercially? A Different Perspective Audience interpretation may dilute intended critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advertising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advertising/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Best picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-picture/) [Campaigns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaigns/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pope/) [Sistine chapel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sistine-chapel/) ## Related quotes > [Don't listen to those who say, you taking too big a chance. 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When I first stood in the Sistine Chapel I wondered if Michelangelo was aware of his blasphemy. Who even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/adam-e-arm-reaching-towards-god-when-i-first-stood-in-the-sistine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I am sure that it was only because Michael Angelo was engaged in the ancient and honourable occupation of lying in bed that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-am-sure-that-it-was-only-because-michael-angelo-was-engaged-in-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“You love a job, no matter how hard it is, it’s still easy. Not sure, never studied up on the guy, could be wrong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/you-love-a-job-no-matter-how-hard-it-is-it-s-still-easy-not-sure/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [“Now I know how Michelangelo felt. 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To those artists who say they're doing it for the love of art, I say:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianni-versace/even-michelangelo-got-paid-for-doing-the-sistine-chapel-to-those/) [Gianni Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianni-versace/) > [“To Giovanni da Pistoia Michelangelo, translated from the Italian by Joel Agee \| 144 words (On painting the vault of the Sistine Chapel) 1509…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-giovanni-da-pistoia-michelangelo-translated-from-the-italian-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Best picture ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/best-picture-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Here he is, best picture I could get at the moment. He will watch over you, and keep you safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/here-he-is-best-picture-i-could-get-at-the-moment-he-will-watch-over/) [Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/) ## More by Oliviero Toscani > [Advertising agencies don't care about a better world in the end. They are servants of their client: what the client wants is what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliviero-toscani/advertising-agencies-don-t-care-about-a-better-world-in-the-end-they/) [Oliviero Toscani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliviero-toscani/) > [I want a better world, but also a realistic world. We can only create a better world by becoming realistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliviero-toscani/i-want-a-better-world-but-also-a-realistic-world-we-can-only-create-a/) [Oliviero Toscani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliviero-toscani/) > [Communication, that's what I do. Advertising is the best way to communicate because you reach a lot of people. I still cant understand though,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliviero-toscani/communication-that-s-what-i-do-advertising-is-the-best-way-to/) [Oliviero Toscani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliviero-toscani/) > [You ask me about my ex-wife? That is not polite. But I will answer. I got another wife now. Much younger, much nicer, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliviero-toscani/you-ask-me-about-my-ex-wife-that-is-not-polite-but-i-will-answer-i/) [Oliviero Toscani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliviero-toscani/) > [I'm a photographer and my pictures are used in advertising campaigns. But I don't do advertising. Do you hear me? I take pictures. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliviero-toscani/i-m-a-photographer-and-my-pictures-are-used-in-advertising-campaigns/) [Oliviero Toscani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliviero-toscani/) > [A photograph permits a first viewing, and then an individual reflection. It solicits participation, and encourages individuality in interpretation. Television is an autarchy, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliviero-toscani/a-photograph-permits-a-first-viewing-and-then-an-individual/) [Oliviero Toscani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliviero-toscani/) > [We become very impressed when we get to look inside ourselves, into pictures. That's the relationship we have with pictures. Every picture is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliviero-toscani/we-become-very-impressed-when-we-get-to-look-inside-ourselves-into/) [Oliviero Toscani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliviero-toscani/) > [Some people look at a picture for thirty seconds, some for years. It doesn't really matter because a picture is like life. 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