--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An artist is above all a human being…" description: "\"An artist is above all a human being, profoundly human to the core. If the artist can't feel everything that humanity feels, if the artist isn't capabl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/diego-rivera-19217_art_an-artist-is-above-all-a-human-being-pro_1959783.jpg" --- # An artist is above all a human being, profoundly human to… ![“An artist is above all a human being, profoundly human to the core. If the artist can't feel everything that humanity feels, if the artist isn't capable of loving until he forgets himself and sacrifices himself if necessary, if he won't put down his magic brush and head the fight against the…” quote by Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/diego-rivera-19217_art_an-artist-is-above-all-a-human-being-pro_1959783.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/diego-rivera-19217_art_an-artist-is-above-all-a-human-being-pro_1959783.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/diego-rivera-19217_art_an-artist-is-above-all-a-human-being-pro_1959783.jpg) > “An artist is above all a human being, profoundly human to the core. If the artist can't feel everything that humanity feels, if the artist isn't capable of loving until he forgets himself and sacrifices himself if necessary, if he won't put down his magic brush and head the fight against the oppressor, then he isn't a great artist.” [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An artist must deeply feel humanity and sacrifice self for others to be truly great. **In simple terms:** Great art requires empathy and self‑sacrifice. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy and act against injustice. Themes art humanity self‑sacrifice justice Mood passionate determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - activism - creative work - social critique Key Concepts existentialism ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can artists stay true to humanity? - What sacrifices are necessary for authentic art? A Different Perspective Art may be limited by personal fear or oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-feel/) [Artist Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-human-1339152/) [Artist Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-isn-1016817/) [Brushes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brushes/) [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Feels Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels-artist-3228485/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-him/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Great artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artist/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) ## Related quotes > [I have never really been a great artist. I have been a human being that has loved art, which is not the same thing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-baker/i-have-never-really-been-a-great-artist-i-have-been-a-human-being/) [Josephine Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-baker/) > [How wonderful it feels to be an artist and a woman in the twentieth century,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/how-wonderful-it-feels-to-be-an-artist-and-a-woman-in-the-twentieth/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [Being an artist isn't a genetic disposition or a specific talent. It's an attitude we can all adopt. It's a hunger to seize new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/being-an-artist-isn-t-a-genetic-disposition-or-a-specific-talent-it-s/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The artist isn't particularly keen on getting a thing done, as you call it. He gets his pleasure out of doing it, playing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/the-artist-isn-t-particularly-keen-on-getting-a-thing-done-as-you/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [I'd much rather be called a champagne socialist than be an artist that isn't talking about the most pressing issue on the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/i-d-much-rather-be-called-a-champagne-socialist-than-be-an-artist/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [I'm trying to be an activist, and I think of that as separate from my work as an artist. But it isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-m-trying-to-be-an-activist-and-i-think-of-that-as-separate-from-my/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [I don't know who made up this sort of greatest-hits list for artists. If one artist isn't moving forward anymore, then it's assumed another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-don-t-know-who-made-up-this-sort-of-greatest-hits-list-for-artists/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [As struggles go, being an artist isn't that much of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/as-struggles-go-being-an-artist-isn-t-that-much-of-one/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [It's give-and-take and back-and-forth, that constantly allows you to grow as an artist and as a human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-swank/it-s-give-and-take-and-back-and-forth-that-constantly-allows-you-to/) [Hilary Swank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-swank/) > [I'm just trying to get better as an artist and as a human being. I feel like that's mad important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordae/i-m-just-trying-to-get-better-as-an-artist-and-as-a-human-being-i/) [Cordae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordae/) > [I'm very receptive to direction, to change, and to developing myself as an artist and human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aquaria/i-m-very-receptive-to-direction-to-change-and-to-developing-myself-as/) [Aquaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aquaria/) > [“Artist is not human, but humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/artist-is-not-human-but-humanity/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [People say that artists come and go but let me tell you I am not an artist. I am first a human being and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/people-say-that-artists-come-and-go-but-let-me-tell-you-i-am-not-an/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [Being an artist and a human in this world always means confronting people who make you feel like you have to act according to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-merton/being-an-artist-and-a-human-in-this-world-always-means-confronting/) [Alice Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-merton/) > [I'm a rapper and an artist, but I'm a human. That's what people forget. That's why I try to make them remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-wave/i-m-a-rapper-and-an-artist-but-i-m-a-human-that-s-what-people-forget/) [Rod Wave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-wave/) ## More by Diego Rivera > [I did not know it then, but Frida had already become the most important fact in my life. And would continue to be, up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/i-did-not-know-it-then-but-frida-had-already-become-the-most/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [“As I rode back to Detroit, a vision of Henry Ford's industrial empire kept passing before my eyes. In my ears, I heard the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/as-i-rode-back-to-detroit-a-vision-of-henry-ford-s-industrial-empire/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [Looking back upon my work today, I think the best I have done grew out of things deeply felt, the worst from a pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/looking-back-upon-my-work-today-i-think-the-best-i-have-done-grew-out/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [“In my previous murals, I had tried to achieve a harmony in my painting with the architecture of the building. But to attempt such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/in-my-previous-murals-i-had-tried-to-achieve-a-harmony-in-my-painting/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [Only the work of art itself can raise the standard of taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/only-the-work-of-art-itself-can-raise-the-standard-of-taste/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [Art is like ham-it nourishes people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/art-is-like-ham-it-nourishes-people/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [“I spent the two and one-half months between my meeting with the Art Commission and the beginning of my actual mural work in soaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/i-spent-the-two-and-one-half-months-between-my-meeting-with-the-art/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [“From sunrise to sunset, I was in the forest, sometimes far from the house, with my goat who watched me as a mother does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/from-sunrise-to-sunset-i-was-in-the-forest-sometimes-far-from-the/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [July 13, 1954 was the most tragic day of my life. I had lost my beloved Frida forever. To late now I realized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/july-13-1954-was-the-most-tragic-day-of-my-life-i-had-lost-my-beloved/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [“you have to trust a TRUE compliment as muc as a critique.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/you-have-to-trust-a-true-compliment-as-muc-as-a-critique/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [“While working in California, I met William Valentiner and Edgar Richardson of the Detroit Institute of Arts. I mentioned a desire which I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/while-working-in-california-i-met-william-valentiner-and-edgar/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [The artist must try to raise the level of taste of the masses, not debase himself to the level of unformed and impoverished taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/the-artist-must-try-to-raise-the-level-of-taste-of-the-masses-not/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [To be an artist, one must . . . never shirk from the truth as he understands it, never withdraw from life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/to-be-an-artist-one-must-never-shirk-from-the-truth-as-he-understands/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [My cubist paintings are my most Mexican.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/my-cubist-paintings-are-my-most-mexican/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [Every good composition is above all a work of abstraction. All good painters know this. But the painter cannot dispense with subjects altogether without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/every-good-composition-is-above-all-a-work-of-abstraction-all-good/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) [Explore all 32 Diego Rivera quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [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 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": "An artist is above all a human being, profoundly human to the core. 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