--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The feat of superbly imitating a muscle…" description: "\"The feat of superbly imitating a muscle, as Michelangelo did, or a face, as Raphael did, created neither progress nor a hierarchy in art. Because these..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/fernand-leger-32284_art_the-feat-of-superbly-imitating-a-muscle_2686118.jpg" --- # The feat of superbly imitating a muscle, as Michelangelo… ![“The feat of superbly imitating a muscle, as Michelangelo did, or a face, as Raphael did, created neither progress nor a hierarchy in art. Because these artists of the sixteenth century imitated human forms, they were not superior to the artists of the high periods of Egyptian, Chaldean…” quote by Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/fernand-leger-32284_art_the-feat-of-superbly-imitating-a-muscle_2686118.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/fernand-leger-32284_art_the-feat-of-superbly-imitating-a-muscle_2686118.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/fernand-leger-32284_art_the-feat-of-superbly-imitating-a-muscle_2686118.jpg) > “The feat of superbly imitating a muscle, as Michelangelo did, or a face, as Raphael did, created neither progress nor a hierarchy in art. Because these artists of the sixteenth century imitated human forms, they were not superior to the artists of the high periods of Egyptian, Chaldean, Indochinese, Roman, and Gothic art who interpreted and stylized form but did not imitate it.” [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imitation of realistic forms stalls artistic evolution; true progress lies in interpretation and stylization. **In simple terms:** Copying forms limits art; reinterpretation advances it. Key Takeaway Embrace creative reinterpretation. Themes art history originality interpretation progress Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - gallery curation - art criticism Key Concepts visual arts creative education Questions to Reflect On - Should artists study masters? - How to balance tradition and innovation? A Different Perspective Imitation can still teach technique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Egyptian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egyptian/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Feats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feats/) [Gothic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gothic/) [Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) ## Related quotes > [You don't spend every day saying, "Gosh! That's so beautiful." Sometimes you look at an object more attentively and see it anew. I won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-berge/you-don-t-spend-every-day-saying-gosh-that-s-so-beautiful-sometimes/) [Pierre Berge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-berge/) > [I always talk about the hierarchy of art, and I always put music on the top of everything, because it's so immaterial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-levit/i-always-talk-about-the-hierarchy-of-art-and-i-always-put-music-on/) [Igor Levit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-levit/) > [In the Renaissance there wasn't a distinction. Bernini was an artist and he made architecture, and Michelangelo also did some great architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/in-the-renaissance-there-wasn-t-a-distinction-bernini-was-an-artist/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [“My object in The Prince was to show defeated Italy a model of her savior, a man as perfect in the bold acquisition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ennis/my-object-in-the-prince-was-to-show-defeated-italy-a-model-of-her/) [Michael Ennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ennis/) > [It heartens me to think of Verdi who composed thundering operas in his eighties; Michelangelo who did fine work in his ninetieth year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/it-heartens-me-to-think-of-verdi-who-composed-thundering-operas-in/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [The aliens on this planet are also attempting to clone or replicate the human form artificially. Their original form, being humanoid, cannot pass the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tsarion/the-aliens-on-this-planet-are-also-attempting-to-clone-or-replicate/) [Michael Tsarion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tsarion/) > [The construction of the human figure, its tremendous variety of balance, of size, of rhythm, all those things make the human form much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-moore/the-construction-of-the-human-figure-its-tremendous-variety-of/) [Henry Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-moore/) > [“Why can't we accept the human form as it is?" screams no one. I don't know why, but we never have. That's why people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/why-can-t-we-accept-the-human-form-as-it-is-screams-no-one-i-don-t/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [I think we need a politics that allows us to risk what is intelligible. To be maybe slightly unintelligible, too be slightly "illisible". To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/i-think-we-need-a-politics-that-allows-us-to-risk-what-is/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [So far we still don't know whether angels are ethereal beings of light without substance or if they take a solid human form with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-godwin/so-far-we-still-don-t-know-whether-angels-are-ethereal-beings-of/) [Malcolm Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-godwin/) > [This is a human form in which every Divine entity, every Divine principle, that is to say, all the names and forms ascribed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/this-is-a-human-form-in-which-every-divine-entity-every-divine/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [“Or powerful objects, such as statues, amulets, monuments, certain models of cars. But they prefer human form. You see gods have great power, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/or-powerful-objects-such-as-statues-amulets-monuments-certain-models/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [I wouldn't exactly call it 'Intelligent', but somebody has to be behind designing the human form other than just biological necessity. Why else would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/i-wouldn-t-exactly-call-it-intelligent-but-somebody-has-to-be-behind/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [“Certain things are expected of you when you’re a demon. Take the grotesque bodies, for example. Powerful, lethal, but definitely not beauty pageant material.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-blake/certain-things-are-expected-of-you-when-you-re-a-demon-take-the/) Samantha Blake > [Cruelty has a human heart, and jealousy a human face. Terror, the human form divine, And secrecy, the human dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/cruelty-has-a-human-heart-and-jealousy-a-human-face-terror-the-human/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) ## More by Fernand Leger > [Modern man lives more and more in a preponderantly geometric order. All human creation mechanical or industrial is dependent upon geometric intentions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/modern-man-lives-more-and-more-in-a-preponderantly-geometric-order/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [I organize the opposition between colors, lines and curves. I set curves against straight lines, patches of color against plastic forms, pure colors against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/i-organize-the-opposition-between-colors-lines-and-curves-i-set/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [Man needs color to live; it's just as necessary an element as fire and water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/man-needs-color-to-live-it-s-just-as-necessary-an-element-as-fire-and/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [The Beautiful is everywhere; perhaps more in the arrangement of your saucepans on the white walls of your kitchen than in your eighteenth-century living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/the-beautiful-is-everywhere-perhaps-more-in-the-arrangement-of-your/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [The craving for colour is a natural necessity just as for water and fire. Colour is a raw material indispensable to life. At every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/the-craving-for-colour-is-a-natural-necessity-just-as-for-water-and/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [Above all, it is a matter of loving art, not understanding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/above-all-it-is-a-matter-of-loving-art-not-understanding-it/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [Even a part of an object has value. A whole new realism resides in the way one envisages an object or one of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/even-a-part-of-an-object-has-value-a-whole-new-realism-resides-in-the/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [Man needs colour to live; it's just as necessary an element as fire and water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/man-needs-colour-to-live-it-s-just-as-necessary-an-element-as-fire/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [The realistic value of a work is completely independent of its properties in terms of content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/the-realistic-value-of-a-work-is-completely-independent-of-its/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [Enormous enlargements of an object or a fragment give it a personality it never had before, and in this way, it can become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/enormous-enlargements-of-an-object-or-a-fragment-give-it-a/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [This truth must be recognized as a dogma and assume the validity of an axiom in the general understanding of painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/this-truth-must-be-recognized-as-a-dogma-and-assume-the-validity-of/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [Colour is a human need like water and fire. It is a raw material indispensable to life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/colour-is-a-human-need-like-water-and-fire-it-is-a-raw-material/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [What does that represent? There was never any question in plastic art, in poetry, in music, of representing anything. It is a matter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/what-does-that-represent-there-was-never-any-question-in-plastic-art/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) > [“A modern man registers a hundred times more sensory impressions than an eighteenth-century artist”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-leger/a-modern-man-registers-a-hundred-times-more-sensory-impressions-than/) [Fernand Leger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) [Explore all 15 Fernand Leger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-leger/) ## 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 > [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": "The feat of superbly imitating a muscle, as Michelangelo did, or a face, as Raphael did, created neither progress nor a hierarchy in art. 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