--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A picture is a thing which requires as…" description: "\"A picture is a thing which requires as much knavery, as much malice, and as much vice as the perpetration of a crime. Make it untrue and add an accent ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/edgar-degas-4615_accents_a-picture-is-a-thing-which-requires-as-m_1193948.png" --- # A picture is a thing which requires as much knavery, as… ![“A picture is a thing which requires as much knavery, as much malice, and as much vice as the perpetration of a crime. Make it untrue and add an accent of truth.” quote by Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/edgar-degas-4615_accents_a-picture-is-a-thing-which-requires-as-m_1193948.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/edgar-degas-4615_accents_a-picture-is-a-thing-which-requires-as-m_1193948.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/edgar-degas-4615_accents_a-picture-is-a-thing-which-requires-as-m_1193948.png) > “A picture is a thing which requires as much knavery, as much malice, and as much vice as the perpetration of a crime. Make it untrue and add an accent of truth.” [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art can be as deceitful and immoral as a crime, but adding a hint of truth can mask it. **In simple terms:** Art may be deceitful, but truth can soften it. Key Takeaway Recognize truth in deceptive works. Themes art deception morality Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - gallery critique - media analysis - political propaganda - advertising - personal relationships Key Concepts ethics perception truth Questions to Reflect On - How does truth affect your perception of deception? - When is artistic deception acceptable? A Different Perspective Even truthful elements cannot fully excuse harmful intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accents/) [Add](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/add/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Crime Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime-make-366676/) [Knavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knavery/) [Make Untrue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-untrue-2576947/) [Malice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malice/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture/) [Picture Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture-thing-1544702/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Untrue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/untrue/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) ## Related quotes > [Just because something seems impossible doesn’t make it untrue,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-harkness/just-because-something-seems-impossible-doesn-t-make-it-untrue/) [Deborah Harkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-harkness/) > [Because no one sees the truth does not make it untrue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/because-no-one-sees-the-truth-does-not-make-it-untrue/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [She couldn't make it untrue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/she-couldn-t-make-it-untrue/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [We never deceive for a good purpose: knavery adds malice to falsehood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/we-never-deceive-for-a-good-purpose-knavery-adds-malice-to-falsehood/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [If you share your friend's crime, you make it your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latin-proverb/if-you-share-your-friend-s-crime-you-make-it-your-own/) [Latin Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latin-proverb/) > [To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/to-make-others-less-happy-is-a-crime-to-make-ourselves-unhappy-is-3/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [“To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/to-make-others-less-happy-is-a-crime-to-make-ourselves-unhappy-is-2/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [“You want less crime? Make it so there are less criminals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/you-want-less-crime-make-it-so-there-are-less-criminals/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [If there is any method in the way I take pictures, I believe it lies in this: See the subject first. Do not try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-brandt/if-there-is-any-method-in-the-way-i-take-pictures-i-believe-it-lies/) [Bill Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-brandt/) > [When you go to take someone's picture, the first thing they say is, what you want me to do? Everyone is very awkward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/when-you-go-to-take-someone-s-picture-the-first-thing-they-say-is/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [I only ever take one picture of one thing. Literally. Never two. So then that picture is taken and then the next one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eggleston/i-only-ever-take-one-picture-of-one-thing-literally-never-two-so-then/) [William Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eggleston/) > [I liked the idea of being a photographer, just that you take this one picture of this one thing that'll never happen again -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-barnett/i-liked-the-idea-of-being-a-photographer-just-that-you-take-this-one/) [Courtney Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-barnett/) > [My roots are in music. But Eileen Ford saw my high school graduation picture, and next thing I knew I was on a plane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bebe-buell/my-roots-are-in-music-but-eileen-ford-saw-my-high-school-graduation/) [Bebe Buell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bebe-buell/) > [I work very quickly. I only ever take one picture of one thing. Literally. Never two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eggleston/i-work-very-quickly-i-only-ever-take-one-picture-of-one-thing/) [William Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eggleston/) > [The widespread interest in gossip is inspired, not by a love of knowledge but by malice: no one gossips about other people's secret virtues,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-widespread-interest-in-gossip-is-inspired-not-by-a-love-of/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More by Edgar Degas > [There are some women who should barely be spoken to; they should only be caressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/there-are-some-women-who-should-barely-be-spoken-to-they-should-only/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [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/) > [Even in front of nature one must compose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/even-in-front-of-nature-one-must-compose/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [Art is vice. One does not wed it, one rapes it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/art-is-vice-one-does-not-wed-it-one-rapes-it/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [What a delightful thing is the conversation of specialists! One understands absolutely nothing and it's charming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/what-a-delightful-thing-is-the-conversation-of-specialists-one/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [Instantaneity is photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/instantaneity-is-photography/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [Women can never forgive me; they hate me, they feel that I am disarming them. I show them without their coquetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/women-can-never-forgive-me-they-hate-me-they-feel-that-i-am-disarming/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [In painting you must give the idea of the true by means of the false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/in-painting-you-must-give-the-idea-of-the-true-by-means-of-the-false/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [I would have been in mortal misery all my life for fear my wife might say, 'That's a pretty little thing,' after I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/i-would-have-been-in-mortal-misery-all-my-life-for-fear-my-wife-might/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [Great patience is called for on the hard path that I have entered on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/great-patience-is-called-for-on-the-hard-path-that-i-have-entered-on/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [There is too much talk and gossip; pictures are apparently made, like stock-market prices, by competition of people eager for profits... All this traffic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/there-is-too-much-talk-and-gossip-pictures-are-apparently-made-like/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [What is certain is that setting a piece of nature in place and drawing it are two very different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/what-is-certain-is-that-setting-a-piece-of-nature-in-place-and/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [I should like to be famous and unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/i-should-like-to-be-famous-and-unknown/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [Art is really a battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/art-is-really-a-battle/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [A picture is an artificial work, outside nature. It calls for as much cunning as the commission of a crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/a-picture-is-an-artificial-work-outside-nature-it-calls-for-as-much/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) [Explore all 108 Edgar Degas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) ## More Accents quotes > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [“It's not my accent, but my brevity makes me stylish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/it-s-not-my-accent-but-my-brevity-makes-me-stylish/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [London, from the architecture to the culture to the fashion to the accents, feels like it's a special place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/london-from-the-architecture-to-the-culture-to-the-fashion-to-the/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [You can't live in a dialect without tremendous work. Like any muscle, accents and voices and languages are all formed out of the muscles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lake-bell/you-can-t-live-in-a-dialect-without-tremendous-work-like-any-muscle/) [Lake Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lake-bell/) > [At first I thought I would have to put on an English accent and try a sort of affected Shakespeare thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/at-first-i-thought-i-would-have-to-put-on-an-english-accent-and-try-a/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I don't think you see a pirate with a parrot on his shoulder, for example. And even with the accents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stevenson/i-don-t-think-you-see-a-pirate-with-a-parrot-on-his-shoulder-for/) [Ray Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stevenson/) > [I'm a Yente and I have a terrible accent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-samuels/i-m-a-yente-and-i-have-a-terrible-accent/) [Lynn Samuels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-samuels/) > [In bed watching Family Guy. Love this show.! So hilarious! Stewie is my favorite :) love his accent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paris-hilton/in-bed-watching-family-guy-love-this-show-so-hilarious-stewie-is-my/) [Paris Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paris-hilton/) > [American accents often sound much more confident than British ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-front/american-accents-often-sound-much-more-confident-than-british-ones/) [Rebecca Front](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-front/) > [At this point two elderly security guards in parkas, the guys who normally work the front desk at the plant, asked John to step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/at-this-point-two-elderly-security-guards-in-parkas-the-guys-who/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [Much of my playing is rhythmic and choppy; I use a lot of double stops. The wah just accents all those stops and chops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-hammett/much-of-my-playing-is-rhythmic-and-choppy-i-use-a-lot-of-double-stops/) [Kirk Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-hammett/) > [“The accent of one's birthplace persists in the mind and heart as much as in speech.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/la-rouchefoucauld/the-accent-of-one-s-birthplace-persists-in-the-mind-and-heart-as-much/) [La Rouchefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/la-rouchefoucauld/) > [Years later, when I was working as a trolley wally in a supermarket, I tackled the boredom by talking to the customers in as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romesh-ranganathan/years-later-when-i-was-working-as-a-trolley-wally-in-a-supermarket-i/) [Romesh Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romesh-ranganathan/) > [I think Americans still can't help but respond to the natural authority of this voice. Deep down they long to be told what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oliver/i-think-americans-still-can-t-help-but-respond-to-the-natural/) [John Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oliver/) > [I live in L.A. so I worry my kids aren't that connected to Britain, I suppose I don't want them to become American kids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mckidd/i-live-in-l-a-so-i-worry-my-kids-aren-t-that-connected-to-britain-i/) [Kevin McKidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mckidd/) [Browse all 749 Accents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A picture is a thing which requires as much knavery, as much malice, and as much vice as the perpetration of a crime. 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