--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Paintings must be understood through the…" description: "\"Paintings must be understood through the eyes, and that's not the word either. No writing, no talking, no singing, no dancing will explain them. They a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/charles-demuth-88445_dancing_paintings-must-be-understood-through-the_1221405.jpg" --- # Paintings must be understood through the eyes, and that's… ![“Paintings must be understood through the eyes, and that's not the word either. No writing, no talking, no singing, no dancing will explain them. They are the final, the nth whoopee of sight.” quote by Charles Demuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/charles-demuth-88445_dancing_paintings-must-be-understood-through-the_1221405.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/charles-demuth-88445_dancing_paintings-must-be-understood-through-the_1221405.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/charles-demuth-88445_dancing_paintings-must-be-understood-through-the_1221405.jpg) > “Paintings must be understood through the eyes, and that's not the word either. No writing, no talking, no singing, no dancing will explain them. They are the final, the nth whoopee of sight.” [Charles Demuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-demuth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Visual art transcends verbal description; it is experienced directly through sight, beyond language **In simple terms:** Art is felt, not explained Key Takeaway Appreciate art through direct perception Themes art perception language limits visual experience Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - museum visits - art education - personal reflection Key Concepts aesthetic theory sensory cognition nonverbal communication Questions to Reflect On - How do we convey visual experiences to the non‑visual? - What role does language play in shaping art appreciation? A Different Perspective Attempting to verbalize visual art can diminish its impact ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Dancing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancing/) [Explain Final](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain-final-3741813/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Eyes Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-word-1364265/) [Finals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finals/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Paintings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paintings/) [Paintings Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paintings-understood-3741812/) [Sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sight/) [Singing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Through the eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/through-the-eyes/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-eyes-3307448/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [You are actually constructing... what your head understood about what your eyes saw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-mccarthy/you-are-actually-constructing-what-your-head-understood-about-what/) [Doris McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-mccarthy/) > [“He understood everything: He could keep his eyes open and the buffalo wouldn't appear, or close them and it would.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-brenner/he-understood-everything-he-could-keep-his-eyes-open-and-the-buffalo/) [Wendy Brenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-brenner/) > [“when I look in your eyes, one word leaps into my mind every single time: Forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-adrian/when-i-look-in-your-eyes-one-word-leaps-into-my-mind-every-single/) [Lara Adrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-adrian/) > [When I look into your eyes, one word leaps to my mind every time: Forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-look-into-your-eyes-one-word-leaps-to-my-mind-every-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“didn’t move his eyes from the word even as”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/didn-t-move-his-eyes-from-the-word-even-as/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [Sugar, your heart has been broken but I can still see true love shine in your eyes. 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I looked at everything, even today, through what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-russell/baseball-shaded-my-entire-outlook-on-life-because-that-s-how-i-first/) [Kurt Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-russell/) > [Sometimes the easiest way to appreciate ourselves is by looking through the eyes of someone who loves us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/sometimes-the-easiest-way-to-appreciate-ourselves-is-by-looking/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [Certain realities in life are only seen through eyes that are cleansed through our tears. Let us learn how to weep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/certain-realities-in-life-are-only-seen-through-eyes-that-are/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [ That is another theme in the book \[Dreams from My Father\]. How do we exercise more empathy in our public discourse? How do we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/that-is-another-theme-in-the-book-dreams-from-my-father-how-do-we/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Charles Demuth > [Flowers and flames. And color. Color as color, not as volume or light - only as color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-demuth/flowers-and-flames-and-color-color-as-color-not-as-volume-or-light/) [Charles Demuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-demuth/) > [The last mad throb of red just as it turns green; the ultimate shriek of orange calling all the blues of heaven for relief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-demuth/the-last-mad-throb-of-red-just-as-it-turns-green-the-ultimate-shriek/) [Charles Demuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-demuth/) [Explore all 3 Charles Demuth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-demuth/) ## 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": "Paintings must be understood through the eyes, and that's not the word either. No writing, no talking, no singing, no dancing will explain them. 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