--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A painting is finished when the subject…" description: "\"A painting is finished when the subject comes back, when what has caused the painting to be made comes back as an object.\" — Howard Hodgkin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/howard-hodgkin-17509_finished_a-painting-is-finished-when-the-subject_3154347.jpg" --- # A painting is finished when the subject comes back, when… ![“A painting is finished when the subject comes back, when what has caused the painting to be made comes back as an object.” quote by Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/howard-hodgkin-17509_finished_a-painting-is-finished-when-the-subject_3154347.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/howard-hodgkin-17509_finished_a-painting-is-finished-when-the-subject_3154347.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/howard-hodgkin-17509_finished_a-painting-is-finished-when-the-subject_3154347.jpg) > “A painting is finished when the subject comes back, when what has caused the painting to be made comes back as an object.” [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A painting reaches completion when the subject reappears, turning the inspiration into a tangible object. **In simple terms:** Art finishes when the subject returns as an object. Key Takeaway Seek to manifest inspiration physically. Themes art completion inspiration Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical descriptive When to use this quote - gallery installations - studio practice - art education Key Concepts Aesthetic theory visual representation Questions to Reflect On - What does the 'subject' represent for you? - How do you translate inspiration into form? A Different Perspective The subject may never fully return, leaving work unfinished. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caused Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caused-painting-5676517/) [Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished/) [Finished Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished-subject-1068953/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-comes-2624958/) [Painting Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-finished-313010/) [Subject Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-comes-5676518/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) ## Related quotes > [Each painting has its own way of evolving. When the painting is finished, the subject reveals itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/each-painting-has-its-own-way-of-evolving-when-the-painting-is/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [“(How do you know a piece is finished?:) It's never finished. The subject is never exhausted. -Louise Bourgeois”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-greenberg/how-do-you-know-a-piece-is-finished-it-s-never-finished-the-subject/) [Jan Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-greenberg/) > [The subject comes first, the medium second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-prince/the-subject-comes-first-the-medium-second/) [Richard Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-prince/) > [The illustrator is essentially a reporter: his subjects come from the outside, lit by a flash. A subject comes to the classical artist from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/the-illustrator-is-essentially-a-reporter-his-subjects-come-from-the/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [ “Finally, when someone asked \[Pollack\] how he knew when a painting was finished, he replied, “How do you know when you’ve finished making love?” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-wetzsteon/finally-when-someone-asked-pollack-how-he-knew-when-a-painting-was/) [Ross Wetzsteon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-wetzsteon/) > [I consider my painting finished when my eyes goes to a particular spot on the canvas. But if I put the picture away about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/i-consider-my-painting-finished-when-my-eyes-goes-to-a-particular/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [Most of the power of painting comes through the manipulation of space... but I don't understand that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/most-of-the-power-of-painting-comes-through-the-manipulation-of-space/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [When I am in a painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/when-i-am-in-a-painting-i-m-not-aware-of-what-i-m-doing-it-is-only/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/it-is-only-when-i-lose-contact-with-the-painting-that-the-result-is-a/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [ When I've painted a woman's bottom so that I want to touch it, then \[the painting\] is finished. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/when-i-ve-painted-a-woman-s-bottom-so-that-i-want-to-touch-it-then/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [“A painting is never finished - it simply stops in interesting places.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gardner/a-painting-is-never-finished-it-simply-stops-in-interesting-places/) [Paul Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gardner/) > [When a painting is finished, it's like a new born child, and the artist himself must have time for understanding. How then do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/when-a-painting-is-finished-it-s-like-a-new-born-child-and-the-artist/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [A painting is finished when the artist says it is finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rembrandt/a-painting-is-finished-when-the-artist-says-it-is-finished/) [Rembrandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rembrandt/) > [The painting is finished when the idea has disappeared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/the-painting-is-finished-when-the-idea-has-disappeared/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [I paint very directly. I go from top to bottom. When I get to the floor, the painting is finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-welliver/i-paint-very-directly-i-go-from-top-to-bottom-when-i-get-to-the-floor/) [Neil Welliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-welliver/) ## More by Howard Hodgkin > [My pictures really finish themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/my-pictures-really-finish-themselves/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [To be a painter now is to be part of a very small, endangered species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/to-be-a-painter-now-is-to-be-part-of-a-very-small-endangered-species/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [The only way an artist can communicate with the world at large is on the level of feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/the-only-way-an-artist-can-communicate-with-the-world-at-large-is-on/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I don't think you can lightly paint a picture. It's an activity I take very seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-don-t-think-you-can-lightly-paint-a-picture-it-s-an-activity-i-take/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I never think that anything I do is courageous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-never-think-that-anything-i-do-is-courageous/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I dont think you can lightly paint a picture. Its an activity I take very seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-dont-think-you-can-lightly-paint-a-picture-its-an-activity-i-take/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [In the United States there has been a kind of a structure in the Modern art world. The New York School was nearly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/in-the-united-states-there-has-been-a-kind-of-a-structure-in-the/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I'm very envious of the few artists who are any good and still do portraits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-m-very-envious-of-the-few-artists-who-are-any-good-and-still-do/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I am isolated as an artist, not as a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-am-isolated-as-an-artist-not-as-a-person/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [Matisse was very clear about saying that you have to blow your own trumpet and explain yourself, which I think has been slightly forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/matisse-was-very-clear-about-saying-that-you-have-to-blow-your-own/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [It takes a long time for the gleam in the eye to turn into something solid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/it-takes-a-long-time-for-the-gleam-in-the-eye-to-turn-into-something/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I fell through a crack for years. Historically, I am a nothing because I fit in no category. I can only be me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-fell-through-a-crack-for-years-historically-i-am-a-nothing-because/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I find old copies of National Gallery catalogues, which are written in the dryest possible prose, infinitely soothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-find-old-copies-of-national-gallery-catalogues-which-are-written-in/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [Eventually, a collection ceases to be a personal indulgence and assumes its own identity. In fact, it becomes a thing in its own right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/eventually-a-collection-ceases-to-be-a-personal-indulgence-and/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I'm vulnerable to criticism. Any artist is, because you work alone in your studio and, until recently, critics were the only way you'd get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-m-vulnerable-to-criticism-any-artist-is-because-you-work-alone-in/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) [Explore all 37 Howard Hodgkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) ## More Finished quotes > [When the Lord Jesus Christ became my surety . . . He went to Calvary's cross, and all my guilt was charged against Him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-allen-ironside/when-the-lord-jesus-christ-became-my-surety-he-went-to-calvary-s/) [Henry Allen Ironside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-allen-ironside/) > [When you do a voice in an animated film, you don't see the finished product at all. You're not animating. 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It's of no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/it-s-pointless-to-be-critical-of-your-stuff-once-it-s-done-i-don-t/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [I think I can recognize when a piece is at a state of completion. I always say to my wife, "Oh yeah, it's roughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/i-think-i-can-recognize-when-a-piece-is-at-a-state-of-completion-i/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [I plead with my Moonlight fans to give this show a chance if they let me give it a chance. I can’t do Moonlight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-o-loughlin/i-plead-with-my-moonlight-fans-to-give-this-show-a-chance-if-they-let/) [Alex O'Loughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-o-loughlin/) > [After I finished college, I got a job on Wall Street as a derivatives trader, but after a couple years of it, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/after-i-finished-college-i-got-a-job-on-wall-street-as-a-derivatives/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [I don't concern myself with thinking ahead to the finished product. I focus more specifically on what the character is experiencing. Once you relieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-eisenberg/i-don-t-concern-myself-with-thinking-ahead-to-the-finished-product-i/) [Jesse Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-eisenberg/) > [A good, finished scandal, fully armed and equipped, such as circulates in the world, is rarely the production of a single individual, or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/a-good-finished-scandal-fully-armed-and-equipped-such-as-circulates/) [Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/) > [With the great people that you work with, it's that they're never giving up and they're never thinking something's finished until they've really, really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-price/with-the-great-people-that-you-work-with-it-s-that-they-re-never/) [Steven Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-price/) > [Don't be intimidated by the size of your problem or the size of your dream. God will see to it that it is finished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/don-t-be-intimidated-by-the-size-of-your-problem-or-the-size-of-your/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees, So when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/oh-adam-was-a-gardener-and-god-who-made-him-sees-that-half-a-proper/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Since the recording process is instantaneous, and the nature of the image such that it cannot survive corrective handwork, it is obvious that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/since-the-recording-process-is-instantaneous-and-the-nature-of-the/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [As a matter of fact, even when I finished law school, I had no notion of public service then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dinkins/as-a-matter-of-fact-even-when-i-finished-law-school-i-had-no-notion/) [David Dinkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dinkins/) [Browse all 2,024 Finished quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A painting is finished when the subject comes back, when what has caused the painting to be made comes back as an object.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Hodgkin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/a-painting-is-finished-when-the-subject-comes-back-when-what-has/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Finished" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/a-painting-is-finished-when-the-subject-comes-back-when-what-has/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/howard-hodgkin-17509_finished_a-painting-is-finished-when-the-subject_3154347.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/howard-hodgkin-17509_finished_a-painting-is-finished-when-the-subject_3154347.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/howard-hodgkin-17509_finished_a-painting-is-finished-when-the-subject_3154347.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A painting is finished when the subject comes back, when what has caused the painting to be made comes back…” — Howard Hodgkin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Howard Hodgkin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A painting is finished when the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/a-painting-is-finished-when-the-subject-comes-back-when-what-has/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/a-painting-is-finished-when-the-subject-comes-back-when-what-has/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```