Galerie

"For me there really exists a hierarchy of pictorial themes. A mangelwurzel and a Madonna are not of equal value, even as art objects. The virtuosity of the 'peinture' is only an attempt to conceal this. I hate the dazzlement of skill: e.g. being able to draw something entirely original: a particular form, a particular composition or an eccentric colour scheme. It's all too easy to get carried away by one's own skill and forget about the picture itself. There are legions of painters who are just too talented to paint good pictures. Being able to do something is never an adequate reason for doing it. That is why I like the 'non-composed' photograph. It does not try to do anything but report on a fact." (From 'Notes, 1964',in: 'Gerhard Richter. The Daily Practice of Painting. Writings 1962-1993', London 1995, p.23).