--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel ever so strongly that an artist…" description: "\"I feel ever so strongly that an artist must be nourished by his passions and his despairs. These things alter an artist whether for the good or the bet..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a40/francis-bacon-297_art_i-feel-ever-so-strongly-that-an-artist-m_1356215.jpg" --- # I feel ever so strongly that an artist must be nourished… ![“I feel ever so strongly that an artist must be nourished by his passions and his despairs. These things alter an artist whether for the good or the better or the worse. It must alter him. The feelings of desperation and unhappiness are more useful to an artist than the feeling of contentment…” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a40/francis-bacon-297_art_i-feel-ever-so-strongly-that-an-artist-m_1356215.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a40/francis-bacon-297_art_i-feel-ever-so-strongly-that-an-artist-m_1356215.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a40/francis-bacon-297_art_i-feel-ever-so-strongly-that-an-artist-m_1356215.jpg) > “I feel ever so strongly that an artist must be nourished by his passions and his despairs. These things alter an artist whether for the good or the better or the worse. It must alter him. The feelings of desperation and unhappiness are more useful to an artist than the feeling of contentment, because desperation and unhappiness stretch your whole sensibility.” [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. An artist's work is deepened by both passion and despair, as strong emotions expand creative sensibility more than contentment does. **In simple terms:** Passion and despair fuel artistic growth more than comfort. Key Takeaway Embrace hardship to deepen art. Themes creativity emotion artistry Mood reflective intense Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - painting - writing - music composition - personal crisis - creative block Key Concepts Aesthetic theory emotional intensity Questions to Reflect On - How can you channel personal pain into creative output? - What role does comfort play in artistic stagnation? A Different Perspective Contentment can lead to complacency, limiting artistic evolution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-feeling-2125984/) [Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Contentment Desperation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment-desperation-4626993/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Desperation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperation/) [Desperation Unhappiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperation-unhappiness-4626995/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feelings Desperation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-desperation-4626994/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Passions Despairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passions-despairs-2733419/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensibility/) [Unhappiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappiness/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [An artist must learn to be nourished by his passions and by his despairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/an-artist-must-learn-to-be-nourished-by-his-passions-and-by-his/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [That's what I love about songwriting. It's why I've been obsessed with Joni Mitchell forever. You can place yourself right in the moment that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracie-abrams/that-s-what-i-love-about-songwriting-it-s-why-i-ve-been-obsessed-with/) [Gracie Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracie-abrams/) > [A work of art is finished, from the point of view of the artist, when feeling and perception have resulted in a spiritual synthesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-hofmann/a-work-of-art-is-finished-from-the-point-of-view-of-the-artist-when/) [Hans Hofmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-hofmann/) > [Once we become conscious of a feeling and attempt to make a corresponding form, we are engaged in an activity which, far from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/once-we-become-conscious-of-a-feeling-and-attempt-to-make-a/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [“But that's what being an artist is - feeling crummy before everyone else feels crummy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-new-yorker/but-that-s-what-being-an-artist-is-feeling-crummy-before-everyone/) [The New Yorker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-new-yorker/) > [I'm really an artist of feeling. I like creating things when it feels right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferrell/i-m-really-an-artist-of-feeling-i-like-creating-things-when-it-feels/) [Will Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferrell/) > [“Every piece of art starts as an empty canvas, a lump of clay, or a mixture of fabrics and colors. It's all raw, stripped-down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-mooney/every-piece-of-art-starts-as-an-empty-canvas-a-lump-of-clay-or-a/) [Mick Mooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-mooney/) > [The desperation was coming off you in waves. You were all but begging to dance with me. I am doing you a favor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/the-desperation-was-coming-off-you-in-waves-you-were-all-but-begging/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [“In the moments of your deepest need, despair and desperation, what you need more than any other thing, is calm and faith.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/in-the-moments-of-your-deepest-need-despair-and-desperation-what-you/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-mass-of-men-lead-lives-of-quiet-desperation-what-is-called/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In exams, we look up for inspiration, down for desperation, left and right for information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/in-exams-we-look-up-for-inspiration-down-for-desperation-left-and/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“Who among us does not move through life with the hidden sense, maybe even quiet desperation, that we are destined for more?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bregman/who-among-us-does-not-move-through-life-with-the-hidden-sense-maybe/) [Peter Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bregman/) > [Lol, the thirst on SQ is serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maher/lol-the-thirst-on-sq-is-serious/) [Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maher/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. 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Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) ## 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. 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