--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The paintings had a strange quality: they…" description: "\"“The paintings had a strange quality: they were figurative but there were no figures in them. They looked as if they might suddenly dissolve.”\" — Chaim..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/chaim-potok-2254_artist_the-paintings-had-a-strange-quality-they_1205291.png" --- # The paintings had a strange quality: they were figurative… ![“The paintings had a strange quality: they were figurative but there were no figures in them. They looked as if they might suddenly dissolve.” quote by Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/chaim-potok-2254_artist_the-paintings-had-a-strange-quality-they_1205291.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/chaim-potok-2254_artist_the-paintings-had-a-strange-quality-they_1205291.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/chaim-potok-2254_artist_the-paintings-had-a-strange-quality-they_1205291.png) > ““The paintings had a strange quality: they were figurative but there were no figures in them. They looked as if they might suddenly dissolve.”” [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The paintings appear realistic yet lack figures, suggesting a fleeting, dissolving quality. **In simple terms:** Art looks real but feels empty. Key Takeaway Notice what’s missing in details. Themes art perception absence illusion figurative Mood thoughtful enigmatic Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - gallery tours - art criticism - creative writing - visual analysis Key Concepts Figurative art visual paradox transience Questions to Reflect On - What does the lack of figures suggest? - How does this affect your perception? A Different Perspective Interpretation can be subjective and vary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Figurative Figures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figurative-figures-3630887/) [Figures Looked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figures-looked-3011242/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Paintings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paintings/) [Paintings Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paintings-strange-3299098/) [Strange Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-quality-1390382/) ## Related quotes > [My paintings are very strange - large and empty, like walls. Just the opposite of my writing, which is rich and juicy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/my-paintings-are-very-strange-large-and-empty-like-walls-just-the/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The figures looked more or less human. And they were engaged in religion. You could tell by the knives (it's not murder if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-figures-looked-more-or-less-human-and-they-were-engaged-in/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Books have that strange quality, that being of the frailest and tenderest matter, they outlast brass, iron and marble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-drummond/books-have-that-strange-quality-that-being-of-the-frailest-and/) [William Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-drummond/) > [Very strange is this quality of our human nature which decrees that unless we feel a future before us we do not live completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/very-strange-is-this-quality-of-our-human-nature-which-decrees-that/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [I see the things and people and events in my daily world as an endless succession of paintings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schmid/i-see-the-things-and-people-and-events-in-my-daily-world-as-an/) [Richard Schmid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schmid/) > [I like all paintings. I always look at the paintings, good or bad, in barbershops, furniture stores, provincial hotels. I'm like a drinker who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/i-like-all-paintings-i-always-look-at-the-paintings-good-or-bad-in/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [I have no ideas about what the paintings imply about the world. I don't think that's a painter's business. He just paints paintings without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-have-no-ideas-about-what-the-paintings-imply-about-the-world-i-don/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Some say they see poetry in my paintings; I see only science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-seurat/some-say-they-see-poetry-in-my-paintings-i-see-only-science/) [Georges Seurat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-seurat/) > [If people would just look at the paintings, I don't think they would have any trouble enjoying them. It's like looking at a bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/if-people-would-just-look-at-the-paintings-i-don-t-think-they-would/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [The air we see in the paintings of the old masters is never the air we breathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/the-air-we-see-in-the-paintings-of-the-old-masters-is-never-the-air/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [It is easy to have a lot of paintings or projects hanging around that are 'almost done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kinkade/it-is-easy-to-have-a-lot-of-paintings-or-projects-hanging-around-that/) [Thomas Kinkade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kinkade/) > [In a way, my paintings are like my children. They have many possibilities in life. You tell them, 'I believe that you're good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-bisky/in-a-way-my-paintings-are-like-my-children-they-have-many/) [Norbert Bisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-bisky/) > [I want the paintings to take me or the viewer out somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/i-want-the-paintings-to-take-me-or-the-viewer-out-somewhere-else/) [Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/) > [I saw Frank Frazetta's art, and it seared on my memory. I love his paintings. They're so amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-momoa/i-saw-frank-frazetta-s-art-and-it-seared-on-my-memory-i-love-his/) [Jason Momoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-momoa/) > [“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/) ## More by Chaim Potok > [“DW: Some critics have written that they don’t admire your so-called simple style. You have contended that your writing is a result of much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/dw-some-critics-have-written-that-they-don-t-admire-your-so-called/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“I cannot pray. I talk to God through my sculpture and painting.' 'That's also prayer.' He smiled faintly, the morning sun on his face.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-cannot-pray-i-talk-to-god-through-my-sculpture-and-painting-that-s/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [I don't work on my Sabbath. I write five-and-a-half or six days a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-don-t-work-on-my-sabbath-i-write-five-and-a-half-or-six-days-a-week/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [And these two elements are at odds with one another because Freud is utterly adversary to almost all the ways of structuring the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/and-these-two-elements-are-at-odds-with-one-another-because-freud-is/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“How should a Jew feel? There we went through the seven gates of hell for matzos. Here I stand in matzos over my head.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/how-should-a-jew-feel-there-we-went-through-the-seven-gates-of-hell/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“In our time... a man whose enemies are faceless bureaucrats almost never wins. It is our equivalent to the anger of the gods in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/in-our-time-a-man-whose-enemies-are-faceless-bureaucrats-almost-never/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [Seeds must be sown everywhere. Only some will bear fruit. But there would not be the fruit from the few had the many not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/seeds-must-be-sown-everywhere-only-some-will-bear-fruit-but-there/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“Basically it’s none of our business how somebody manages to grow, if only he does grow, if only we’re on the trail of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/basically-it-s-none-of-our-business-how-somebody-manages-to-grow-if/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“I walked the streets and tasted the golden sun that lay across the city.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-walked-the-streets-and-tasted-the-golden-sun-that-lay-across-the/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [What I have in advance are people I want to write about and a problem or problems that I see those people encountering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/what-i-have-in-advance-are-people-i-want-to-write-about-and-a-problem/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“Millions of people can draw. Art is whether there is a scream in you wanting to get out in a special way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/millions-of-people-can-draw-art-is-whether-there-is-a-scream-in-you/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“When the alternative is possible disaster, a man must gamble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/when-the-alternative-is-possible-disaster-a-man-must-gamble/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [I will go wherever the truth leads me. It is secular scholarship, Rebbe; it is not the scholarship of tradition. In secular scholarship there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-will-go-wherever-the-truth-leads-me-it-is-secular-scholarship-rebbe/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [… the world will indulge you just so long Asher Lev. Then it will stop. You will simply have to grow accustomed to that truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/the-world-will-indulge-you-just-so-long-asher-lev-then-it-will-stop/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [No one knows he is fortunate until he becomes unfortunate, that's the way the world is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/no-one-knows-he-is-fortunate-until-he-becomes-unfortunate-that-s-the/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) [Explore all 175 Chaim Potok quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) ## 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": "“The paintings had a strange quality: they were figurative but there were no figures in them. They looked as if they might suddenly dissolve.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chaim Potok" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/the-paintings-had-a-strange-quality-they-were-figurative-but-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/the-paintings-had-a-strange-quality-they-were-figurative-but-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/chaim-potok-2254_artist_the-paintings-had-a-strange-quality-they_1205291.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/chaim-potok-2254_artist_the-paintings-had-a-strange-quality-they_1205291.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/chaim-potok-2254_artist_the-paintings-had-a-strange-quality-they_1205291.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The paintings had a strange quality: they were figurative but there were no figures in them. They looked as…” — Chaim Potok", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Chaim Potok", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The paintings had a strange quality:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/the-paintings-had-a-strange-quality-they-were-figurative-but-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/the-paintings-had-a-strange-quality-they-were-figurative-but-there/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```