--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is certain is that setting a piece…" description: "\"What is certain is that setting a piece of nature in place and drawing it are two very different things.\" — Edgar Degas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/edgar-degas-4615_artist_what-is-certain-is-that-setting-a-piece_326004.png" --- # What is certain is that setting a piece of nature in place… ![“What is certain is that setting a piece of nature in place and drawing it are two very different things.” quote by Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/edgar-degas-4615_artist_what-is-certain-is-that-setting-a-piece_326004.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/edgar-degas-4615_artist_what-is-certain-is-that-setting-a-piece_326004.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/edgar-degas-4615_artist_what-is-certain-is-that-setting-a-piece_326004.png) > “What is certain is that setting a piece of nature in place and drawing it are two very different things.” [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. Points out the difference between arranging nature and actually drawing it, emphasizing the gap between intention and execution. **In simple terms:** Planning differs from doing. Key Takeaway Bridge the gap between vision and action. Themes art process creativity execution Mood determined creative Type artistic motivational When to use this quote - design projects - writing drafts - architectural plans Key Concepts visual arts skill development Questions to Reflect On - What steps turn ideas into finished work? - How do you handle the gap between planning and doing? A Different Perspective May ignore constraints of medium. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-things/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Drawing Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing-different-824786/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Piece Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piece-nature-3063039/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Place Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-drawing-3063038/) [Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setting/) [Settings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settings/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [If we think systematically, we will stop asking, How much is nature worth? We will know that we are a piece of nature ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-henrik-robert/if-we-think-systematically-we-will-stop-asking-how-much-is-nature/) [Karl-Henrik Robert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-henrik-robert/) > [“When I'm drawing - and here drawing is very different from writing or reasoning - I have the impression at certain moments of participating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/when-i-m-drawing-and-here-drawing-is-very-different-from-writing-or/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [When I have a model who is quiet and steady and with whom I am acquainted, then I draw repeatedly 'til there is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/when-i-have-a-model-who-is-quiet-and-steady-and-with-whom-i-am/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [I dont play any two suited cards. I play any two non-suited cards. That way I am drawing at two different flushes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amarillo-slim/i-dont-play-any-two-suited-cards-i-play-any-two-non-suited-cards-that/) [Amarillo Slim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amarillo-slim/) > [I'm interested in power. I'm interested in the kind of polarities and equilibriums that take place within sexuality and philosophy and sociology. So in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/i-m-interested-in-power-i-m-interested-in-the-kind-of-polarities-and/) [Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/) > [Setting is preliminary to brighter rising; decay is a process of advancement; death is the condition of higher and more fruitful life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/setting-is-preliminary-to-brighter-rising-decay-is-a-process-of/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Don't ever be impressed with goal setting. Be impressed with goal getting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/don-t-ever-be-impressed-with-goal-setting-be-impressed-with-goal/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [When Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bruce Jenner asked a roomful of Olympic hopefuls if they had a list of written goals, every one raised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/when-olympic-decathlon-gold-medalist-bruce-jenner-asked-a-roomful-of/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [There are tides of justice surging to the unknown shores of right; Stars of truth that seek a setting in the dark, untutored night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/there-are-tides-of-justice-surging-to-the-unknown-shores-of-right/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [Any girl that's in a professional setting has to have a certain amount of decorum, but there's always a different story going on, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stana-katic/any-girl-that-s-in-a-professional-setting-has-to-have-a-certain/) [Stana Katic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stana-katic/) > [He was a long, stripy policeman, who flowed out of his uniform at odd spots, as if Nature, setting out to make a constable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/he-was-a-long-stripy-policeman-who-flowed-out-of-his-uniform-at-odd/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [The parent who tries to train without setting a good example is building with one hand, and pulling down with the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/the-parent-who-tries-to-train-without-setting-a-good-example-is/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Through learning we grow, becoming more than we were before, and in that sense learning is unselfish, because it results in the transformation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/through-learning-we-grow-becoming-more-than-we-were-before-and-in/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Woody Allen is a genius. His films are wonderful. He's poetic, but he's also a critic. He artfully steps back from a social setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/woody-allen-is-a-genius-his-films-are-wonderful-he-s-poetic-but-he-s/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [She feels like kicking out all the windows And setting fire to this life She could change everything about her using colors bold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-matthews/she-feels-like-kicking-out-all-the-windows-and-setting-fire-to-this/) [Dave Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-matthews/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [I want to be famous but unknown!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/i-want-to-be-famous-but-unknown/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) [Explore all 108 Edgar Degas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) ## 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": "What is certain is that setting a piece of nature in place and drawing it are two very different things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edgar Degas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/what-is-certain-is-that-setting-a-piece-of-nature-in-place-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/what-is-certain-is-that-setting-a-piece-of-nature-in-place-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/edgar-degas-4615_artist_what-is-certain-is-that-setting-a-piece_326004.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/edgar-degas-4615_artist_what-is-certain-is-that-setting-a-piece_326004.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/edgar-degas-4615_artist_what-is-certain-is-that-setting-a-piece_326004.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is certain is that setting a piece of nature in place and drawing it are two very different things.” — Edgar Degas", "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": "Edgar Degas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What is certain is that setting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/what-is-certain-is-that-setting-a-piece-of-nature-in-place-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/what-is-certain-is-that-setting-a-piece-of-nature-in-place-and/#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 } } ] } ```