Famous Art Quotes

Discover 82 iconic quotes from renowned artists about the power of art:

“Pablo Picasso, during an exhibition, answered a German General who asked him, “Did you make this painting (Guernica)?” with, “No, you did!”

Slavoj Zizek

“Once, Picasso was asked what his works meant. He replied, “Do you understand what the birds are chirping? No. But you still listen.” Sometimes, in art, it’s important only to look.”

Marina Abramovic

“The purpose of art is not to represent the external appearance of things, but to represent their inner significance.”

Aristotle

“If art did not exist, the crudity of reality would make the world unbearable.”

George Bernard Shaw

“Art should refine our behavior, character, feelings of justice and sympathy; it should serve the elevation of our self-awareness, self-control, and the respect we feel and express for others; it should develop us in such a way that we cannot tolerate injustice, cruelty, unfairness, and banality.”

George Bernard Shaw

“Painting is a poem that has no words.”

Horace

“The purpose of art is to cleanse the soul from the dust of everyday life.”

Pablo Picasso

“Painting is another way of keeping a diary.”

Pablo Picasso

“It took me 4 years to learn to paint like Rafael, but a lifetime to learn to paint like a child.”

Pablo Picasso

“What do you think a painter is? Someone who notices the heartbreaking or comforting events around them and is a political figure who shapes themselves. Painting is not done to decorate houses. Painting is a weapon of war.”

Pablo Picasso

“Painting is the specialty of the blind. They don’t paint what they see; they paint what they feel and live.”

Pablo Picasso

“Learn the rules like a professional so you can break them like an artist.”

Pablo Picasso

“A person should approach painting the same way they approach life, directly.”

Pablo Picasso

“To compare it to sculpture is the most a painter can do for a painting.”

Pablo Picasso

“Everything you can imagine is real.”

Pablo Picasso

“Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.”

Pablo Picasso

“When I draw a wild horse, you may not see the horse… but you will certainly see the wildness!”

Pablo Picasso

“The world doesn’t mean anything, so why should I make paintings that mean something?”

Pablo Picasso

“We artists will not be broken, and we have the strength to create our art; even in a prison, even in a concentration camp, even if I had to paint with wet slices of bread on the dusty floor of my cell.”

Pablo Picasso

“I paint not what I see, but what I think.”

Pablo Picasso

“To paint, you must close your eyes and sing.”

Pablo Picasso

“Give me a museum and I will fill it.”

Pablo Picasso

“When I was a little boy, my mother used to say, if you’re a soldier, you’ll become a general; if you’re a priest, you’ll rise to the Papacy. But I became a painter and remained Picasso.”

Pablo Picasso

“God is no different from other artists. He created the giraffe, the elephant, and the cat. He has no real style, he is always trying new things.”

Pablo Picasso

“I don’t tell everything, but I make the painting of everything.”

Pablo Picasso

“Good artists copy; great artists steal.”

Pablo Picasso

“To create something new, you must first destroy something.”

Pablo Picasso

“There is no such thing as abstract art. You must always start with something recognizable. Then, you can erase all traces of reality.”

Pablo Picasso

“Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.”

Pablo Picasso

“Imitating others is necessary, but imitating yourself is a sick behavior.”

Pablo Picasso

“I don’t search, I find.”

Pablo Picasso

“Why do two colors painted side by side sing? Can anyone really explain this? No. Just as no one will ever learn to paint.”

Pablo Picasso

“Painting is not made to decorate houses. Painting is a weapon to be used for defense or attack against the enemy.”

Pablo Picasso

“Everyone wants to understand a painting. Why don’t they try to understand the birds’ chirping? The night, the flowers, everything surrounding a person is loved without the need for understanding. But when it comes to painting, they want to understand. They should understand that the artist works because it’s necessary. The importance that is given to many things in nature, which we don’t feel the need to explain but which captivate us, shouldn’t be given to the artist, because he is also one of the smallest members of the world. Those who try to explain a painting often go down the wrong path. Not long ago, Gertrude Stein joyfully said she understood what my painting was trying to express. According to Stein, there were three musicians in the painting. However, it was a still life!”

Pablo Picasso

“Everyone is an artist when they are a child; the difficult thing is to remain an artist when you grow up.”

Pablo Picasso

“To create a work of art, you must ignore and forget all the rules.”

Pablo Picasso

“Music is to the ear what color is to the eye.”

Louis Comfort Tiffany

“One eye sees, the other feels.”

Paul Klee

“Art does not reflect the visible; it makes it visible.”

Paul Klee

“I realized that I could express things I could not put into words and could not express in any other way through colors and shapes.”

Georgia O’Keeffe

“To me, a work of art should have a political, erotic, and mystical meaning, in addition to hanging on the wall of a museum.”

Georgia O’Keeffe

“Art allows us to both discover and lose ourselves at the same time.”

Thomas Merton

“I have no fear of making changes to a painting, of destroying images, because the painting has its own life.”

Jackson Pollock

“Abstract painting is abstract. It faces you. Years ago, a critic noted that my paintings had no clear beginning or end. Although this was not said as a compliment, it actually was one.”

Jackson Pollock

“When I say artist, I mean those who create something… some with a brush, some with a spade, some with a pen.”

Jackson Pollock

“Painting isn’t difficult when you don’t know it. But once you know, it’s very difficult!”

Edgar Degas

“When painting, you must show the truth through mistakes.”

Edgar Degas

“Art is what you make others see, not what you see yourself.”

Edgar Degas

“If you don’t know how to paint, painting is very easy for you. But if you know, it’s very difficult.”

Edgar Degas

“Everyone has talent when they are 25. The difficult thing is to still have that talent when you are 50.”

Edgar Degas

“You cannot reach the level of the great masters of old art without knowing their secrets.”

Edgar Degas

“In art, nothing, even movement, is accidental.”

Edgar Degas

“When I think of art, I think of beauty. Beauty is the mystery of life. Beauty is not in the eye, it’s in the mind. Our minds are aware of perfection.”

Agnes Martin

“Every painting is a journey to a sacred harbor.”

Giotto di Bondone

“When doing art criticism, I take my painting and place it next to an object created by God, like a tree or a flower. If it doesn’t match, then it is not art.”

Paul Cezanne

“To paint nature is not to copy objects; it is to realize someone’s intuition.”

Paul Cezanne

“Painting is very difficult – every time you think, “Okay, it’s done,” but actually, it’s not.”

Paul Cezanne

“Art is not craftsmanship; it is the transmission of the emotions the artist experiences.”

Lev Tolstoy

“For art to be realistic and useful, it must carry spiritual, national, religious, and moral features.”

Lev Tolstoy

“For a work of art to be useful to all humanity, it must separate good and evil, be beautiful and understandable. Art can only reach a worthy value when it benefits the masses, not a specific class.”

Lev Tolstoy

“Art is the work of those who can think, see the truth, and understand society.”

Lev Tolstoy

“If art, which is achieved through great effort and sacrifice, is used to crush and exploit man, then we must speak of the harm of art, not its benefit.”

Lev Tolstoy

“Art cannot be a justification for immorality.”

Lev Tolstoy

“Art must eliminate violence; only it can do this.”

Lev Tolstoy

“Every artist was an amateur at the beginning.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A room full of paintings is a room full of thoughts.”

Joshua Reynolds

“My interest in fine arts grew – the more I saw, the more I wanted to see.”

J. Paul Getty

“I fear that if you look at something long enough, you lose all its meaning.”

Andy Warhol

“I asked 10-15 people for their advice. In the end, a woman asked the right question, “What do you love the most?” That’s how I started painting money.”

Andy Warhol

“The production of art is the cry of freedom.”

Christo

“Painting is the endless minute of my personality.”

Salvador Dali

“People love mystery, that’s why they love art.”

Salvador Dali

“Intellectual people need art more than they realize. It is a condition for survival.”

Salvador Dali

“I don’t paint things. I only paint things that are real.”

Salvador Dali

“When I was in high school, I needed an outlet, and painting appeared in front of me. In fact, I’ve been painting for a much longer time than my acting career. Filmmaking is a team effort, but painting is completely individual.”

James Franco

“A beautiful painting is like a good friend. It accompanies, relaxes, and inspires.”

Hedy Lamarr

“I dream a lot. When I’m not painting, I’m actually painting even more; in my subconscious.”

Andrew Wyeth

“The only thing you have to do is break all the rules.”

Andrew Wyeth

“Painting is like a strange miracle I have to live through again and again.”

Philip Guston

“I saw an angel trapped in marble, and I carved the marble until I set the angel free.”

Michelangelo

“A good painting is one that resembles sculpture.”

Michelangelo

“Man creates a painting not with his hands, but with his mind.”

Michelangelo

“A true masterpiece is nothing more than a shadow of divine maturity.”

Michelangelo

“Every viewer will perceive something different. That’s the thing with paintings, photos, and films.”

David Lynch

“Photography, painting, or poetry – these are my extensions, my way of perceiving things; they are my mode of communication.”

Viggo Mortensen

“When I get angry with a woman, I usually do something great—make a terrible portrait of her.”

Jean-Michel Basquiat

“Unlike all other visuals, a photograph is not a creation, an imitation, or an interpretation of its subject; it is a trace. No painting or drawing is as much a trace of its subject as a photograph.”

John Berger

“In general, surrealists and the modernist movement in painting provided a key for a world living under the threat of nuclear war after the war. The uncertainties and meaning confusions in surrealism, cubism, and abstract painting reminded me of my childhood years in Shanghai.”

J. G. Ballard

“The first painting I remember loving was ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ by Hieronymus Bosch, which I saw when I was six years old at the Prado Museum in Madrid. Every time I go to Madrid, I find myself in front of this painting.”

Carolina Herrera

“The poems of words shape music as notes do; I shape painting with colors.”

Joan Miró

“For me, no form is abstract; it is always a sign of something. It could be a human, a bird, or something else. For me, a painting is never made for the sake of form.”

Joan Miró

“I don’t understand. Jack spends whatever it takes to win votes, but he avoids spending $1,000 on a beautiful painting.”

Jackie Kennedy

“Nature forms the foundation of the science of painting.”

Robert Delaunay

“Painting is an original and unique language. I don’t really know how to express what I am depicting.”

Balthus

“Painting is a symbol of the universe. Within itself, every part is connected. By looking at one part, we can’t understand what the whole painting is expressing. Probably, the universe has a similar harmony, and we can only experience a small portion of it.”

Corita Kent

“There is no good painting about nothing.”

Mark Rothko

“The world of imagination is not fancy and lacks common sense.”

Mark Rothko

“Art is a counter-destiny.”

André Malraux

“An artist discovers creativity when they stop trying to please others.”

André Malraux

“If commercialization means a child who can’t afford $30,000 being able to buy a t-shirt with a print of my artwork, I’m all for it.”

Keith Haring

“Painting is a poem that cannot be felt but is seen; poetry is a painting that cannot be seen but is felt.”

Leonardo da Vinci

“Science and art develop a balance between logic and imagination.”

Leonardo da Vinci

“Painting is a matter of the mind.”

Leonardo da Vinci

“A painter should start by painting the canvas completely black because, until light hits it, everything in nature is dark.”

Leonardo da Vinci

“There is no art without the soul working along with the hand.”

Leonardo da Vinci

“Art and love are the same: a process of seeing yourself as something you’re not.”

Chuck Klosterman

“If you ask me what I can do in this world, my answer as an artist would be: I am here to live loudly.”

Émile Zola

“Art is the only serious thing in the world. The artist is the only person who is never serious.”

Oscar Wilde

“Although it may seem like a paradox, the art of life mimics life more than life mimics art.”

Oscar Wilde

“Every portrait made with intense emotions is a portrait of the painter, not the model.”

Oscar Wilde

“Art is the most well-known form of individual style.”

Oscar Wilde

“Art begins where imitation ends.”

Oscar Wilde

“You can ask a painter about the meaning of his painting or a poet about the meaning of his poem. But this only frustrates the purpose. These answers only acquire meaning through personal search.”

Rick Riordan

“Art is the only way to escape home without leaving home.”

Twyla Tharp

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”

Scott Adams

“We have art in order not to die of the truth.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

“Art is the true mission of life.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

“Photography is the mystery of the secret. The more it tells you, the less you know.”

Diane Arbus

“Taking a photo is an instant reaction, painting is meditation.”

Henri Cartier-Bresson

“A photo without emotions is like a chocolate cake without sugar. You feel like vomiting.”

Laurie Halse Anderson

“Nature is a haunted house—art is the house trying to be haunted.”

Emily Dickinson

“I don’t like to say I gave my life to art. Instead, I prefer to say art gave me my life.”

Frank Stella

“Life sometimes exhausts and crushes your soul, and in those moments, art strengthens your soul.”

Stella Adler

“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”

Cesar A. Cruz

“I drink to the honor of art and freedom. May this wonderful adventure never end…”

Jason Mraz

“Art is the act of creating something from nothing and selling it.”

Frank Zappa

“Modern paintings are like women; if you try to understand them, you’ll never enjoy them.”

Freddie Mercury

“If life is like a haunted house, art is the only stair that doesn’t creak.”

Tom Robbins

“Earth is art, the photographer is the witness.”

Yann Arthus-Bertrand

“An artist’s job is to ask questions, not to answer them.”

Anton Chekhov

“In art, as in love, instinct is enough.”

Anatole France

“Painting is the silence of thought and the music of vision.”

Orhan Pamuk

“Color is a force that deeply affects the soul.”

Wassily Kandinsky

“In art, there are no conditions because art is free.”

Wassily Kandinsky

“Any fool can paint, but to sell it takes intelligence.”

Samuel Butler

“Art is the literature of the heart.”

Elliot Eisner

“Art is either imitation or revolution.”

Paul Gauguin

“Art is an abstraction taken from nature.”

Paul Gauguin

“Art = the wild search for individuality.”

Paul Gauguin

“I am curious about art as part of life, not as a means to sustain my existence.”

Robert Henri

“Color is a matter of taste and feeling.”

Edouard Manet

“A painting is complete when it has a shadow of a god.”

Rembrandt van Rijn

“An artwork doesn’t have to be beautiful. It must be meaningful.”

Duane Hanson

“A painting must be strong enough to withstand the polish, dirt, and all the impurities that come with time and restorations.”

Pierre Auguste Renoir

“I love paintings that make you want to walk through a landscape or stroke a woman’s back. However, there is a point at which nature’s reflection should stop.”

Pierre Auguste Renoir

“Art is the voice of your soul calling, and your response.”

Terri Guillemets

“Art is a joint creation between God and the painter, and the less the artist owns, the better.”

André Gide

“An artwork is never completed. It answers a question previously asked and asks a new one.”

Robert Engman

“Sex is like art. It’s usually terrible, and the good ones exceed your budget.”

Scott Roeben

“In art and poetry, character is everything.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Thought and experience can never meet at a center; they can only be united through art and action.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“We know power very well; but the interpretation and processing of the particular is the true life of art.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Arts are the salt of the earth; just as salt is to food, art is to technique.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“There is no national art or national science; both, like all supreme and high values, belong to the whole world.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Science and art belong to the whole world, not to the boundaries of nations.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Art is as long as my God, life is as short as my time.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“No artist is beyond their time. They are of their time, and only others lag behind.”

Martha Graham

“I’ll either be an artist, or I’ll be nothing!”

Eugene O’Neill

“Art, like morals, is simply a matter of drawing the line somewhere.”

G.K. Chesterton

“Paint what you love, and die happy.”

Henry Miller

“Paintings are often innocent and are generally framed by crimes they did not commit. Some cover the holes in the wall, while others cover the holes in our lives. Some create holes in our wallets, some in our hearts…”

Marilyn Manson

“A guilty conscience needs to confess. An artwork is a confession.”

Albert Camus

“If the world were bright, there would be no art.”

Albert Camus

“Art is both an act of exultation and negation.”

Albert Camus

“Art, when it chases after bread, degenerates.”

Aristophanes

“Art does not capture, it senses what is about to happen.”

August Everding

“Like all spiritual culture, art is born from labor and undoubtedly develops through it.”

Avner Ziss

Art has been the subject of profound reflection throughout history, with artists, philosophers, and thinkers offering unique perspectives on its significance and role in society. The following quotes delve into the essence of art, its power to transform, and the deep connection it holds with our lives. From Marilyn Manson’s contemplation on the innocence and impact of paintings to Albert Camus’ exploration of art as a form of confession, these words reflect how art can shape our emotions, thoughts, and worldviews. Whether it is about the expression of joy, the denial of reality, or the deep connection to the human experience, these quotes highlight the enduring influence of art across cultures and time.