--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You want accuracy, but not…" description: "\"You want accuracy, but not representation. If you know how to make the figuration, it doesn't work. Anything you can make, you make by accident. In pai..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b2/francis-bacon-297_accidents_you-want-accuracy-but-not-representation_2730708.jpg" --- # You want accuracy, but not representation. If you know how… ![“You want accuracy, but not representation. If you know how to make the figuration, it doesn't work. Anything you can make, you make by accident. In painting, you have to know what you do, not how, when you do it.” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b2/francis-bacon-297_accidents_you-want-accuracy-but-not-representation_2730708.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b2/francis-bacon-297_accidents_you-want-accuracy-but-not-representation_2730708.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b2/francis-bacon-297_accidents_you-want-accuracy-but-not-representation_2730708.jpg) > “You want accuracy, but not representation. If you know how to make the figuration, it doesn't work. Anything you can make, you make by accident. In painting, you have to know what you do, not how, when you do it.” [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. True artistry requires understanding the process, not just the result; accidental creation lacks mastery. **In simple terms:** Know how and why you create art. Key Takeaway Master technique before improvisation. Themes art technique intentionality Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - art classes - studio practice - creative workshops - design projects Key Concepts aesthetics creative process skill development Questions to Reflect On - What balance of skill and intuition do you need? - How does knowing the process improve your work? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on technique can stifle spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Accuracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accuracy/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) ## Related quotes > [Being in the studio is like painting, you know, you can really take your time, and try different things, and kind of go deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosanne-cash/being-in-the-studio-is-like-painting-you-know-you-can-really-take/) [Rosanne Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosanne-cash/) > [I, painting from myself and to myself, Know what I do, am unmoved by men's blame Or their praise either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/i-painting-from-myself-and-to-myself-know-what-i-do-am-unmoved-by-men/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [We've all been there - you find something moving, you commission a painting. I know one wall of my living room is taken up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nish-kumar/we-ve-all-been-there-you-find-something-moving-you-commission-a/) [Nish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nish-kumar/) > [The key is in remaining just aloof enough from a painting so that you know when to stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buffy-sainte-marie/the-key-is-in-remaining-just-aloof-enough-from-a-painting-so-that-you/) [Buffy Sainte-Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buffy-sainte-marie/) > [Mostly people are ignorant, what is the language of painting. You know, they're ignorant. It is so difficult to make them aware, but time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-husain/mostly-people-are-ignorant-what-is-the-language-of-painting-you-know/) [M. F. Husain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-husain/) > [We look at a painting to know the painter; it's his company we are after, not his skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-whistler/we-look-at-a-painting-to-know-the-painter-it-s-his-company-we-are/) [James Whistler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-whistler/) > [We do not know the true value of our moments until they have undergone the test of memory. Like the images the photographer plunges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-duhamel/we-do-not-know-the-true-value-of-our-moments-until-they-have-2/) [Georges Duhamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-duhamel/) > [I think I'm just generally more interested in figuration than abstraction. I think that painting abstraction often feels like painting colors to me, whereas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-als/i-think-i-m-just-generally-more-interested-in-figuration-than/) [Hilton Als](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-als/) > [“Imagination is not, as some poets have thought, simply synonymous with good. It may be either good or evil. As long as art remained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-barfield/imagination-is-not-as-some-poets-have-thought-simply-synonymous-with/) [Owen Barfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-barfield/) > [My tendency towards bareness and simplification has been practiced in three fields: modeling, colors, and the figuration of the personages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/my-tendency-towards-bareness-and-simplification-has-been-practiced-in/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [No matter how brilliant, amusing or intelligent the creek of abstraction, Dadaism, Minimalism and Conceptualism of the 20th century was, it didn't much affect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kostabi/no-matter-how-brilliant-amusing-or-intelligent-the-creek-of/) [Mark Kostabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kostabi/) > [I often avoid using the terms 'figuration' and 'abstraction' because I've always tried to have it both ways. I want the experience of looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-brown/i-often-avoid-using-the-terms-figuration-and-abstraction-because-i-ve/) [Cecily Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-brown/) > [“We know the original relation of the theater and the cult of the Dead: the first actors separated themselves from the community by playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/we-know-the-original-relation-of-the-theater-and-the-cult-of-the-dead/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [A precision of composition and figuration is what I'm working toward. I've always felt viewers should have an experience without having to ask what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-fischl/a-precision-of-composition-and-figuration-is-what-i-m-working-toward/) [Eric Fischl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-fischl/) > [I first had no interest in figuration whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-first-had-no-interest-in-figuration-whatsoever/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) ## 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 Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. 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You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/) [Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/) > [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. 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