--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What's so astonishing about not…" description: "\"What's so astonishing about not understanding? There are so many things in art, beginning with art itself, that one doesn't understand. A painter doesn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/henri-matisse-1641_art_what-s-so-astonishing-about-not-understa_978304.jpg" --- # What's so astonishing about not understanding? There are… ![“What's so astonishing about not understanding? There are so many things in art, beginning with art itself, that one doesn't understand. A painter doesn't see everything that he has put in his painting.” quote by Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/henri-matisse-1641_art_what-s-so-astonishing-about-not-understa_978304.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/henri-matisse-1641_art_what-s-so-astonishing-about-not-understa_978304.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/henri-matisse-1641_art_what-s-so-astonishing-about-not-understa_978304.jpg) > “What's so astonishing about not understanding? There are so many things in art, beginning with art itself, that one doesn't understand. A painter doesn't see everything that he has put in his painting.” [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding art is challenging because art itself is complex and often beyond full comprehension. **In simple terms:** Art is hard to fully grasp. Key Takeaway Embrace mystery in creative work. Themes art philosophy creativity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - painting workshops - art education - creative writing - museum tours Key Concepts subjectivity interpretation Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of art remain unknowable? - How does mystery inspire creation? A Different Perspective Overanalysis can stifle appreciation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Astonishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishing/) [Doesn Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doesn-understand/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painter Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter-doesn-1923885/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Understand Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-painter-1923884/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Understanding things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding-things/) ## Related quotes > [The painter doesn't try to reproduce the scene before him... he simplifies and eliminates until he knows exactly what stirred him, sets this down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milne/the-painter-doesn-t-try-to-reproduce-the-scene-before-him-he/) [David Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milne/) > [I want it to be more universal than that - like a painter doesn't have to explain his life story away to justify his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-orton/i-want-it-to-be-more-universal-than-that-like-a-painter-doesn-t-have/) [Beth Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-orton/) > [A painter doesn't need any talent. In fact, it's better not to have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/a-painter-doesn-t-need-any-talent-in-fact-it-s-better-not-to-have-it/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [Things were sort of Bohemian in Montmartre - one lived, one painted, one was a painter - all that doesn't mean anything, fundamentally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/things-were-sort-of-bohemian-in-montmartre-one-lived-one-painted-one/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Understanding things clearer now. Its hard facing the truth about someones character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/understanding-things-clearer-now-its-hard-facing-the-truth-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We want to see ourselves as curious and open-minded and smart and understanding things in terms of context and nuance, but when someone tries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/we-want-to-see-ourselves-as-curious-and-open-minded-and-smart-and/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [This book is pointing the way into it for people that see it as daunting or a mystery. Some people just do it, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-schneider/this-book-is-pointing-the-way-into-it-for-people-that-see-it-as/) [Sally Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-schneider/) > [For it was not so much that by means of words I came to a complete understanding of things, as that from things I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/for-it-was-not-so-much-that-by-means-of-words-i-came-to-a-complete/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [I think people understand things different when they get older. It’s not a question of getting soft, or seeing things in the gray areas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/i-think-people-understand-things-different-when-they-get-older-it-s/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [There are three kinds of minds: first those that attain insight and understanding of things by their own means, then those that recognize what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/there-are-three-kinds-of-minds-first-those-that-attain-insight-and/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [If one is master of one thing and understands one thing well, one has at the same time, insight into and understanding of many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/if-one-is-master-of-one-thing-and-understands-one-thing-well-one-has/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“Understanding how or why is very seldom as useful as understanding that things are. I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/understanding-how-or-why-is-very-seldom-as-useful-as-understanding/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I like to know why a video has suddenly gone viral, why a song has broken, why a TV show is suddenly rating out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/i-like-to-know-why-a-video-has-suddenly-gone-viral-why-a-song-has/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) > [Synthesize new ideas constantly. Never read passively. Annotate, model, think, and synthesize while you read, even when you're reading what you conceive to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-boyden/synthesize-new-ideas-constantly-never-read-passively-annotate-model/) [Edward Boyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-boyden/) > [...God does not possess a private knowledge of Himself and a separate knowledge of all the creatures in common. The universal Cause, by knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-dionysius/god-does-not-possess-a-private-knowledge-of-himself-and-a-separate/) [Pope Dionysius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-dionysius/) ## More by Henri Matisse > [The wall around the window does not create two worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/the-wall-around-the-window-does-not-create-two-worlds/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Arrival = Prison, and the artist must never be a prisoner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/arrival-prison-and-the-artist-must-never-be-a-prisoner/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [To arrive is to be in prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/to-arrive-is-to-be-in-prison/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [When I saw what a mess everything was in I asked for my money back on the ticket. I would have felt I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/when-i-saw-what-a-mess-everything-was-in-i-asked-for-my-money-back-on/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [A painting in an interior spreads joy around it by the colors, which calm us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/a-painting-in-an-interior-spreads-joy-around-it-by-the-colors-which/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Color was not given to us in order that we should imitate Nature. It was given to us so that we can express our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/color-was-not-given-to-us-in-order-that-we-should-imitate-nature-it/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [If it is practiced by a man of taste, the photograph will have the appearance of art (but) the photographer must...intervene as little as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/if-it-is-practiced-by-a-man-of-taste-the-photograph-will-have-the/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have a light joyousness of springtime which never lets anyone suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-have-always-tried-to-hide-my-efforts-and-wished-my-works-to-have-a/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [The chief function of color should be to serve expression as well as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/the-chief-function-of-color-should-be-to-serve-expression-as-well-as/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [One gets into a state of creativity by conscious work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/one-gets-into-a-state-of-creativity-by-conscious-work/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [My pictures are made up of four or five colors that collide with one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/my-pictures-are-made-up-of-four-or-five-colors-that-collide-with-one/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [What I dream of is an art of balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/what-i-dream-of-is-an-art-of-balance/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [...I am driven on by an idea that I really only grasp as it grows with the picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-am-driven-on-by-an-idea-that-i-really-only-grasp-as-it-grows-with/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I don't paint things. I only paint the difference between things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-don-t-paint-things-i-only-paint-the-difference-between-things/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [After a half-century of hard work and reflection the wall is still there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/after-a-half-century-of-hard-work-and-reflection-the-wall-is-still/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) [Explore all 219 Henri Matisse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) ## 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": "What's so astonishing about not understanding? 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