--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All artists are vain, they long to be…" description: "\"All artists are vain, they long to be recognized and to leave something to posterity. They want to be loved, and at the same time they want to be free...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/francis-bacon-297_art_all-artists-are-vain-they-long-to-be-rec_2825465.jpg" --- # All artists are vain, they long to be recognized and to… ![“All artists are vain, they long to be recognized and to leave something to posterity. They want to be loved, and at the same time they want to be free. But nobody is free.” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/francis-bacon-297_art_all-artists-are-vain-they-long-to-be-rec_2825465.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/francis-bacon-297_art_all-artists-are-vain-they-long-to-be-rec_2825465.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/francis-bacon-297_art_all-artists-are-vain-they-long-to-be-rec_2825465.jpg) > “All artists are vain, they long to be recognized and to leave something to posterity. They want to be loved, and at the same time they want to be free. But nobody is free.” [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists crave recognition, love, and freedom, but true freedom is unattainable, creating tension in creative ambition. **In simple terms:** Artists desire fame and love but can’t be truly free. Key Takeaway Accept limits while pursuing authentic expression. Themes art recognition freedom ambition Mood reflective melancholic Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - gallery openings - social media promotion - artist residencies - grant applications Key Concepts existentialism psychology creativity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal freedom with public expectation? - Can true artistic freedom exist? A Different Perspective The desire for freedom may conflict with commercial pressures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists/) [Artists Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists-vain-3621050/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Posterity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/posterity/) [Posterity Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/posterity-want-3621051/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-loved/) ## Related quotes > [“The artist must manage to make posterity believe that he never existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-artist-must-manage-to-make-posterity-believe-that-he-never-existed/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [I work for posterity, these things requiring ages for their accomplishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-work-for-posterity-these-things-requiring-ages-for-their/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“The noblest works and foundations have proceeded from childless men, which have sought to express the image of their minds, where those of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-noblest-works-and-foundations-have-proceeded-from-childless-men-2/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Truth may perhaps come to the price of a pearl, that showeth best by day; but it will not rise to the price of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/truth-may-perhaps-come-to-the-price-of-a-pearl-that-showeth-best-by/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Vain-glorious men are the scorn of the wise, the admiration of fools, the idols of paradise, and the slaves of their own vaunts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/vain-glorious-men-are-the-scorn-of-the-wise-the-admiration-of-fools/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Many want to be loved, respected, cherished and cared for, but only few want to really do it. And they are the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/many-want-to-be-loved-respected-cherished-and-cared-for-but-only-few/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [I don't want to be loved. No interest in being loved whatsoever. Actually, I don't mind being misunderstood either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-allen/i-don-t-want-to-be-loved-no-interest-in-being-loved-whatsoever/) [Keith Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-allen/) > [If you want to be loved, be lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/if-you-want-to-be-loved-be-lovable/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Being single can suck to people beacause you just want to be loved and cared for and just want to feel very special.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-single-can-suck-to-people-beacause-you-just-want-to-be-loved/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We all want to be loved. We all want to feel accepted. We all want to feel content. And life is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayley-kiyoko/we-all-want-to-be-loved-we-all-want-to-feel-accepted-we-all-want-to/) [Hayley Kiyoko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayley-kiyoko/) > [“Guys want it, and if you don’t give it to them, they don’t want you. I want him to want me, so sex is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-perez/guys-want-it-and-if-you-don-t-give-it-to-them-they-don-t-want-you-i/) [Kathryn Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-perez/) > [“But no matter what, I want you to be loved. You deserve to be loved. And I hope you get to marry for love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-cass/but-no-matter-what-i-want-you-to-be-loved-you-deserve-to-be-loved-and/) [Kiera Cass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-cass/) > [I'm achingly aware of my own limitations as both part of the human race and as an individual. I'm just, casting this out that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/i-m-achingly-aware-of-my-own-limitations-as-both-part-of-the-human/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [At the end of the day, everyone knows what it is to be loved and to aspire to love someone, to want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/at-the-end-of-the-day-everyone-knows-what-it-is-to-be-loved-and-to/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [If I want to be loved as I am, I have to be willing to love others as they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/if-i-want-to-be-loved-as-i-am-i-have-to-be-willing-to-love-others-as/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) ## More by Francis Bacon > [Princes are like heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and which have much veneration, but no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/princes-are-like-heavenly-bodies-which-cause-good-or-evil-times-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The best preservative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admonition of a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-best-preservative-to-keep-the-mind-in-health-is-the-faithful/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/painting-today-is-pure-intuition-and-luck-and-taking-advantage-of/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I usually accept bribes from both sides so that tainted money can never influence my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-usually-accept-bribes-from-both-sides-so-that-tainted-money-can/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Much bending breaks the bow; much unbending the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/much-bending-breaks-the-bow-much-unbending-the-mind/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When Christ came into the world, peace was sung; and when He went out of the world, peace was bequeathed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-christ-came-into-the-world-peace-was-sung-and-when-he-went-out/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [...neither is it possible to discover the more remote and deeper parts of any science, if you stand but upon the level of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/neither-is-it-possible-to-discover-the-more-remote-and-deeper-parts/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The human understanding, when any preposition has been once laid down... forces everything else to add fresh support and confirmation; and although more cogent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-human-understanding-when-any-preposition-has-been-once-laid-down/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I should have been, I don't know, a con-man, a robber or a prostitute. But it was vanity that made me choose painting, vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-should-have-been-i-don-t-know-a-con-man-a-robber-or-a-prostitute/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Wounds cannot be cured without searching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/wounds-cannot-be-cured-without-searching/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-french-are-wiser-than-they-seem-and-the-spaniards-seem-wiser-than/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When a man laughs at his troubles he loses a great many friends. They never forgive the loss of their prerogative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-a-man-laughs-at-his-troubles-he-loses-a-great-many-friends-they/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Believing that I was born for the service of mankind, and regarding the care of the commonwealth as a kind of common property which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/believing-that-i-was-born-for-the-service-of-mankind-and-regarding/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) [Explore all 711 Francis Bacon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## 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": "All artists are vain, they long to be recognized and to leave something to posterity. 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