--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Painting someone's portrait is, of…" description: "\"Painting someone's portrait is, of course, an impossible task. What an absurd idea to try and distil a human being, the most complex organism on the pl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cd/david-cobley-61196_absurd_painting-someone-s-portrait-is-of-course_1287457.jpg" --- # Painting someone's portrait is, of course, an impossible… ![“Painting someone's portrait is, of course, an impossible task. What an absurd idea to try and distil a human being, the most complex organism on the planet, into flicks, washes, and blobs of paint on a two-dimensional surface.” quote by David Cobley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cd/david-cobley-61196_absurd_painting-someone-s-portrait-is-of-course_1287457.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cd/david-cobley-61196_absurd_painting-someone-s-portrait-is-of-course_1287457.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cd/david-cobley-61196_absurd_painting-someone-s-portrait-is-of-course_1287457.jpg) > “Painting someone's portrait is, of course, an impossible task. What an absurd idea to try and distil a human being, the most complex organism on the planet, into flicks, washes, and blobs of paint on a two-dimensional surface.” [David Cobley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cobley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Capturing a person's essence in a portrait is impossible; art can only approximate complexity. **In simple terms:** Portraits can’t fully represent a person. Key Takeaway Accept art’s limits, appreciate its attempts. Themes art representation complexity Mood reflective critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - gallery visits - creative workshops - self‑portrait projects - teaching art - cultural critique Key Concepts aesthetics human nature interpretation Questions to Reflect On - Why do we still value portraits? - How can artists convey depth beyond visuals? A Different Perspective Art may oversimplify, leading to misinterpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Portraiture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portraiture/) ## Related quotes > [I hate to paint portraits! I hope never to paint another portrait in my life. Portraiture may be all right for a man in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-singer-sargent/i-hate-to-paint-portraits-i-hope-never-to-paint-another-portrait-in/) [John Singer Sargent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-singer-sargent/) > [Artists with the lack of proper education and experience of working from life will copy whatever is visible on the photograph, without knowing what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-babailov/artists-with-the-lack-of-proper-education-and-experience-of-working/) [Igor Babailov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-babailov/) > [One is never satisfied with the portrait of a person that one knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/one-is-never-satisfied-with-the-portrait-of-a-person-that-one-knows/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Some sitters don't engage with the process of having their portrait painted at all. They'll think it's a good opportunity to catch up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-pearson-wright/some-sitters-don-t-engage-with-the-process-of-having-their-portrait/) [Stuart Pearson Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-pearson-wright/) > [The person portrayed and the portrait are two entirely different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-person-portrayed-and-the-portrait-are-two-entirely-different/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The self-portrait is an act of objectifying the self and in that regard is a unique form of portraiture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burton-silverman/the-self-portrait-is-an-act-of-objectifying-the-self-and-in-that/) [Burton Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burton-silverman/) > [Every single person is unlike anyone else. Therefore, in creating a portrait of someone... we must look carefully to catch that particular unique quality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-tobey/every-single-person-is-unlike-anyone-else-therefore-in-creating-a/) [Alton Tobey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-tobey/) > [I am living a new and exalted life of late. It steeps me in a sacred rapture to see a portrait develop and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-am-living-a-new-and-exalted-life-of-late-it-steeps-me-in-a-sacred/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [In a sense, every work you do is a self-portrait because your paintings always reveal more about you than about your subject. Your experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schmid/in-a-sense-every-work-you-do-is-a-self-portrait-because-your/) [Richard Schmid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schmid/) > [Make portraits of people in typical, familiar poses, being sure above all to give their faces the same kind of expression as their bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/make-portraits-of-people-in-typical-familiar-poses-being-sure-above/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [When one starts from a portrait and seeks by successive eliminations to find pure form... one inevitably ends up with an egg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-one-starts-from-a-portrait-and-seeks-by-successive-eliminations/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Nothing in a portrait is a matter of indifference. Gesture, grimace, clothing, decor even - all must combine to realize a character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/nothing-in-a-portrait-is-a-matter-of-indifference-gesture-grimace/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [The portrait painter... If he insults his sitters his occupation is gone. Whether he paints the should instead of the features, or the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/the-portrait-painter-if-he-insults-his-sitters-his-occupation-is-gone/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [I do not care to paint portraits indoors. I cannot feel sympathetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-sorolla/i-do-not-care-to-paint-portraits-indoors-i-cannot-feel-sympathetic/) [Joaquin Sorolla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-sorolla/) > [With an 'advanced' artist, it's not now possible to make a portrait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/with-an-advanced-artist-it-s-not-now-possible-to-make-a-portrait/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) ## More by David Cobley > [As a boy, I used to look at reproductions of Rembrandt's portraits... the people in his paintings were so real I felt I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cobley/as-a-boy-i-used-to-look-at-reproductions-of-rembrandt-s-portraits-the/) [David Cobley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cobley/) > [All of us take an interest, to a greater or lesser extent, in what people around us look like, what they are doing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cobley/all-of-us-take-an-interest-to-a-greater-or-lesser-extent-in-what/) [David Cobley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cobley/) > [People fascinate me. Consciously or unconsciously, I have been studying their behavior all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cobley/people-fascinate-me-consciously-or-unconsciously-i-have-been-studying/) [David Cobley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cobley/) > [Sometimes, in a portrait, I go straight in with paint onto canvas... Other than riding my bike up and down the hills around here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cobley/sometimes-in-a-portrait-i-go-straight-in-with-paint-onto-canvas-other/) [David Cobley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cobley/) [Explore all 5 David Cobley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cobley/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Painting someone's portrait is, of course, an impossible task. 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