--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The motif must always be set down in a…" description: "\"The motif must always be set down in a simple way, easily grasped and understood by the beholder. By the elimination of superfluous detail, the spectat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/alfred-sisley-51262_art_the-motif-must-always-be-set-down-in-a-s_1441985.jpg" --- # The motif must always be set down in a simple way, easily… ![“The motif must always be set down in a simple way, easily grasped and understood by the beholder. By the elimination of superfluous detail, the spectator should be led along the road that the artist indicates to him, and from the first be made to notice what the artist has felt.” quote by Alfred Sisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/alfred-sisley-51262_art_the-motif-must-always-be-set-down-in-a-s_1441985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/alfred-sisley-51262_art_the-motif-must-always-be-set-down-in-a-s_1441985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/alfred-sisley-51262_art_the-motif-must-always-be-set-down-in-a-s_1441985.jpg) > “The motif must always be set down in a simple way, easily grasped and understood by the beholder. By the elimination of superfluous detail, the spectator should be led along the road that the artist indicates to him, and from the first be made to notice what the artist has felt.” [Alfred Sisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sisley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should strip away excess, presenting the essence so viewers directly feel the creator’s intent. **In simple terms:** Simplicity reveals the artist’s feeling. Key Takeaway Simplify to convey emotion. Themes art simplicity perception communication Mood analytical inspired Type instructional philosophical When to use this quote - gallery curation - design - education - visual media Key Concepts aesthetic theory visual storytelling minimalism Questions to Reflect On - How much detail is needed to preserve meaning? - When does reduction become loss? A Different Perspective Over‑simplification can strip nuance and depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Motif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motif/) [Motifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motifs/) [Simple ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-ways/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) ## Related quotes > [Honestly, I never felt like I wasn't an artist on my own. I always felt like the music I made was mine, whether it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rostam-batmanglij/honestly-i-never-felt-like-i-wasn-t-an-artist-on-my-own-i-always-felt/) [Rostam Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rostam-batmanglij/) > [For so long I was a struggling artist. I felt like I had my faith, family and health together, but not my career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-missick/for-so-long-i-was-a-struggling-artist-i-felt-like-i-had-my-faith/) [Simone Missick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-missick/) > [Why was the painting made? What ideas of the artist can we sense? Can the personality and sensitivity of the artist be felt when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brommer/why-was-the-painting-made-what-ideas-of-the-artist-can-we-sense-can/) [Gerald Brommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brommer/) > [“After a time, my hand had become as skilled as my eyes. So if I was drawing a very fine tree, it felt as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/after-a-time-my-hand-had-become-as-skilled-as-my-eyes-so-if-i-was/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [And often he who has chosen the fate of the artist because he felt himself to be different soon realizes that he can maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/and-often-he-who-has-chosen-the-fate-of-the-artist-because-he-felt/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The artists catch what's in the air. It's not because the artist "felt like it" or is a guru who channels the truth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-mouly/the-artists-catch-what-s-in-the-air-it-s-not-because-the-artist-felt/) [Francoise Mouly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-mouly/) > [ I read once that \[Pablo\] Picasso felt if an artist ever felt totally satisfied with a work she ceased to be an artist. With… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo/i-read-once-that-pablo-picasso-felt-if-an-artist-ever-felt-totally/) [Milo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo/) > [As an artist I have always felt that my task is not to create meaning but to charge the air so that meaning can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-hido/as-an-artist-i-have-always-felt-that-my-task-is-not-to-create-meaning/) [Todd Hido](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-hido/) > [The way one sees is also dependent upon one's emotional state of mind. This is why a motif can be looked at in so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/the-way-one-sees-is-also-dependent-upon-one-s-emotional-state-of-mind/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [“The thought washed over me like water on a flower shop window, like a soothing, cool lotion after you've showered and spent the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-thought-washed-over-me-like-water-on-a-flower-shop-window-like-a/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [That's the kind of motif I bring to the books - that people take charge of their own lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/that-s-the-kind-of-motif-i-bring-to-the-books-that-people-take-charge/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [I should like to take the wind and water and sand as a motif and work with them, but it has to be simplified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-dove/i-should-like-to-take-the-wind-and-water-and-sand-as-a-motif-and-work/) [Arthur Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-dove/) > [I have no motif, only motivation. I believe that motivation is the real thing, the natural thing, and that the motif is old-fashioned, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/i-have-no-motif-only-motivation-i-believe-that-motivation-is-the-real/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [“I know so little, she tells herself again, searching her mother's face. In the end, we know so little. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-richler/i-know-so-little-she-tells-herself-again-searching-her-mother-s-face/) [Emma Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-richler/) > [motif, n. You don’t love me as much as I love you. You don’t love me as much as I love you. You don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/motif-n-you-don-t-love-me-as-much-as-i-love-you-you-don-t-love-me-as/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## More by Alfred Sisley > [Though the artist must remain master of his craft, the surface, at times raised to the highest pitch of loveliness, should transmit to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sisley/though-the-artist-must-remain-master-of-his-craft-the-surface-at/) [Alfred Sisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sisley/) > [ To mention only contemporaries, Delacroix, Corot, Millet, Rousseau, Courbet are masters. And finally \[I like\] all those \[painters\] who loved and had a strong… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sisley/to-mention-only-contemporaries-delacroix-corot-millet-rousseau/) [Alfred Sisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sisley/) > [The animation of the canvas is one of the hardest problems of painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sisley/the-animation-of-the-canvas-is-one-of-the-hardest-problems-of-painting/) [Alfred Sisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sisley/) > [I always start a painting with the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sisley/i-always-start-a-painting-with-the-sky/) [Alfred Sisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sisley/) > [Every picture shows a spot with which the artist has fallen in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sisley/every-picture-shows-a-spot-with-which-the-artist-has-fallen-in-love/) [Alfred Sisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sisley/) > [I like all those painters who loved and had a strong feeling for nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sisley/i-like-all-those-painters-who-loved-and-had-a-strong-feeling-for/) [Alfred Sisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sisley/) [Explore all 7 Alfred Sisley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sisley/) ## More Art quotes > [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/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [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/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“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 > [The house has to serve comfort. 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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 only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [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/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The motif must always be set down in a simple way, easily grasped and understood by the beholder. 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