--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Painting dissolves the forms at its…" description: "\"Painting dissolves the forms at its command, or tends to; it melts them into color. Drawing, on the other hand, goes about resolving forms, giving edge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/alexander-eliot-52029_artist_painting-dissolves-the-forms-at-its-comm_668798.jpg" --- # Painting dissolves the forms at its command, or tends to… ![“Painting dissolves the forms at its command, or tends to; it melts them into color. Drawing, on the other hand, goes about resolving forms, giving edge and essence to things. To see shapes clearly, one outlines them--whether on paper or in the mind. Therefore, Michelangelo, a profoundly cultivated…” quote by Alexander Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/alexander-eliot-52029_artist_painting-dissolves-the-forms-at-its-comm_668798.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/alexander-eliot-52029_artist_painting-dissolves-the-forms-at-its-comm_668798.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/alexander-eliot-52029_artist_painting-dissolves-the-forms-at-its-comm_668798.jpg) > “Painting dissolves the forms at its command, or tends to; it melts them into color. Drawing, on the other hand, goes about resolving forms, giving edge and essence to things. To see shapes clearly, one outlines them--whether on paper or in the mind. Therefore, Michelangelo, a profoundly cultivated man, called drawing the basis of all knowledge whatsoever.” [Alexander Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Drawing is portrayed as the foundation of knowledge, contrasting with painting’s fluidity. **In simple terms:** Drawing builds knowledge; painting expresses emotion. Key Takeaway Emphasize drawing to understand fundamentals. Themes art knowledge creativity Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - art education - design work - personal study Key Concepts visual perception form essence Questions to Reflect On - How does drawing shape your perception? - Can painting and drawing be integrated? A Different Perspective Drawing alone cannot capture the emotional impact of color. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Bases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bases/) [Called Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-drawing-4314139/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Command](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/command/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Edges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edges/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/michelangelo/) [Michelangelo Profoundly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/michelangelo-profoundly-5314726/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-michelangelo-5314727/) [Outlines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlines/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) ## Related quotes > [To see the human condition in the old woman, in the child, in the model on the stand, in that particular human being, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-franck/to-see-the-human-condition-in-the-old-woman-in-the-child-in-the-model/) [Frederick Franck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-franck/) > [Michelangelo's contemporaries thought him the greatest artist who ever lived and called him 'divine.' His reputation as sculptor, architect, painter and draughtsman has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ayrton/michelangelo-s-contemporaries-thought-him-the-greatest-artist-who/) [Michael Ayrton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ayrton/) > [“Thus, Michelangelo filled the chapel with hidden messages of his passionate loves and his righteous rages, along with mystic symbols of divine justice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-blech/thus-michelangelo-filled-the-chapel-with-hidden-messages-of-his/) [Benjamin Blech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-blech/) > [We are the clay, and you are Michelangelo. And we will be your masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/we-are-the-clay-and-you-are-michelangelo-and-we-will-be-your/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [Tintoretto attempted to fill the line of Michelangelo with color, without tracing its principle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fuseli/tintoretto-attempted-to-fill-the-line-of-michelangelo-with-color/) [Henry Fuseli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fuseli/) > [Even Michelangelo got paid for doing the Sistine Chapel. 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/) > [“How to maintain the proper mood and not bore the congregation to sleep? Art was the answer. But not just pretty pictures that required…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-blech/how-to-maintain-the-proper-mood-and-not-bore-the-congregation-to/) [Benjamin Blech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-blech/) > [Michelangelo indeed could have carved out your features.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/michelangelo-indeed-could-have-carved-out-your-features/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“Like Michelangelo spending eight months in the mountains of Carrara, selecting the most perfect blocks of marble for the tomb of Pope Julius II,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/like-michelangelo-spending-eight-months-in-the-mountains-of-carrara/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“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/) > [When they asked Michelangelo how he made his statue of David he is reported to have said, "It is easy. You just chip away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/when-they-asked-michelangelo-how-he-made-his-statue-of-david-he-is/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [Don't listen to those who say, you taking too big a chance. Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor, and it would surely be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-simon/don-t-listen-to-those-who-say-you-taking-too-big-a-chance/) [Neil Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-simon/) > [If we now seek the spiritual significance of the technique of Michelangelo we shall find that his sculpture expressed restless energy...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-rodin/if-we-now-seek-the-spiritual-significance-of-the-technique-of/) [Auguste Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-rodin/) > [“Michelangelo’s mistakes, frozen within testimony of concrete—what they suggest is that mistakes are, first and foremost, a by-product of the pursuit of excellence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-harmon/michelangelo-s-mistakes-frozen-within-testimony-of-concrete-what-they/) [James L. Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-harmon/) > [“In the case of Michel Angelo we have an artist who with brush and chisel portrayed literally thousands of human forms; but with this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-carpenter/in-the-case-of-michel-angelo-we-have-an-artist-who-with-brush-and/) [Edward Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-carpenter/) ## More by Alexander Eliot > [Painting dissolves the forms at its command ... it melts them into color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-eliot/painting-dissolves-the-forms-at-its-command-it-melts-them-into-color/) [Alexander Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-eliot/) > [This moment, this being, is the thing. My life is all life in little. The moon, the planets, pass around my heart. The sun,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-eliot/this-moment-this-being-is-the-thing-my-life-is-all-life-in-little-the/) [Alexander Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-eliot/) > [I have but one life to give to adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-eliot/i-have-but-one-life-to-give-to-adventure/) [Alexander Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-eliot/) > [We're not home-and-hearth people. We're the adventurers, the buccaneers, the blockade runners. Without challenge, we're only alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-eliot/we-re-not-home-and-hearth-people-we-re-the-adventurers-the-buccaneers/) [Alexander Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-eliot/) > [So-called restoration is at least as tricky as brain surgery. Most pictures expire under scalpel and sponge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-eliot/so-called-restoration-is-at-least-as-tricky-as-brain-surgery-most/) [Alexander Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-eliot/) > [Personal answers to ultimate questions. That is what we seek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-eliot/personal-answers-to-ultimate-questions-that-is-what-we-seek/) [Alexander Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-eliot/) [Explore all 7 Alexander Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-eliot/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Painting dissolves the forms at its command, or tends to; it melts them into color. Drawing, on the other hand, goes about resolving forms, giving edge and essence to things. To see shapes clearly, one outlines them--whether on paper or in the mind. 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