---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To give a body and a perfect form to…"
description: "\"To give a body and a perfect form to one's thought, this - and only this - is to be an artist.\" — Jacques-Louis David"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jacques-louis-david-55514_art_to-give-a-body-and-a-perfect-form-to-one_1410339.png"
---

#  To give a body and a perfect form to one's thought, this…

![“To give a body and a perfect form to one's thought, this - and only this - is to be an artist.” quote by Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jacques-louis-david-55514_art_to-give-a-body-and-a-perfect-form-to-one_1410339.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jacques-louis-david-55514_art_to-give-a-body-and-a-perfect-form-to-one_1410339.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jacques-louis-david-55514_art_to-give-a-body-and-a-perfect-form-to-one_1410339.png)

> “To give a body and a perfect form to one's thought, this - and only this - is to be an artist.”

[Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/)

## 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 gives form to thought, making ideas tangible; this is the essence of artistry.

**In simple terms:** Art makes thoughts visible.

Key Takeaway

Translate ideas into form.

Themes

creativity expression visualization

Mood

inspirational analytical

Type

artistic educational

When to use this quote

- design projects
- writing
- public speaking

Key Concepts

art theory philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you better visualize abstract ideas?
- What mediums best convey your inner thoughts?

A Different Perspective

May ignore emotional depth of thought.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/)

## Related quotes

> [Man is a central creature between the animals, that is to say, the most perfect form, which unites the traits of all in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-gottfried-herder/man-is-a-central-creature-between-the-animals-that-is-to-say-the-most/)

[Johann Gottfried Herder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-gottfried-herder/)

> [The book, like the bicycle, is a perfect form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-book-like-the-bicycle-is-a-perfect-form/)

[Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/)

> [They are more beautiful than anything in the world, kinetic sculptures, perfect form in motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/they-are-more-beautiful-than-anything-in-the-world-kinetic-sculptures/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [Why don't we just expand ourselves into our perfect form, our perfect being?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/why-don-t-we-just-expand-ourselves-into-our-perfect-form-our-perfect/)

[Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/)

> [In the same spirit, when the automobile arrived, there were those that declared the horse to be the most perfect form of locomotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/in-the-same-spirit-when-the-automobile-arrived-there-were-those-that/)

[Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/)

> [The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-paul-vi/the-mass-is-the-most-perfect-form-of-prayer/)

[Pope Paul VI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-paul-vi/)

> [Perfect form is the most important thing to have a perfect body, it's impossible to make a painting with a big brush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-nubret/perfect-form-is-the-most-important-thing-to-have-a-perfect-body-it-s/)

[Serge Nubret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-nubret/)

> [The angels are as perfect in form as they are in spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-of-arc/the-angels-are-as-perfect-in-form-as-they-are-in-spirit/)

[Joan of Arc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-of-arc/)

> [“And what about these, Socrates? Things that might seem absurd, like hair and mud and dirt, or anything else totally undignified and worthless? Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/and-what-about-these-socrates-things-that-might-seem-absurd-like-hair/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Things often offer themselves to our mind in a more finished form in the very first thought, than we might have made them by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/things-often-offer-themselves-to-our-mind-in-a-more-finished-form-in/)

[Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [There is in the chemist a form of thought by which all ideas become visible in the mind as strains of an imagined piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/there-is-in-the-chemist-a-form-of-thought-by-which-all-ideas-become/)

[Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/)

> [Thanks are the highest form of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/thanks-are-the-highest-form-of-thought/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [Vision is an intelligent form of thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/vision-is-an-intelligent-form-of-thought/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [Any material form, or thought, or feeling, past or present, should be regarded as, 'This is not mine, this is not what I am,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/any-material-form-or-thought-or-feeling-past-or-present-should-be/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [Riches begin in the form of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/riches-begin-in-the-form-of-thought/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

## More by Jacques-Louis David

> [I will never, for the future, paint the portrait of a tyrant until his head lies before me on the scaffold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/i-will-never-for-the-future-paint-the-portrait-of-a-tyrant-until-his/)

[Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/)

> [ The artist must be a philosopher. Socrates the skilled sculptor, Jean-Jacques \[Rousseau\] the good musician, and the immortal Poussin, tracing on the canvas the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/the-artist-must-be-a-philosopher-socrates-the-skilled-sculptor-jean/)

[Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/)

> [If the work is poor, the public taste will soon do it justice. And the author, reaping neither glory nor fortune, will learn by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/if-the-work-is-poor-the-public-taste-will-soon-do-it-justice-and-the/)

[Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/)

> [In the arts the way in which an idea is rendered, and the manner in which it is expressed, is much more important than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/in-the-arts-the-way-in-which-an-idea-is-rendered-and-the-manner-in/)

[Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/)

> [“It is the last painting that I want to do, but I want to surpass myself in it. I am putting into it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/it-is-the-last-painting-that-i-want-to-do-but-i-want-to-surpass/)

[Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/)

[Explore all 6 Jacques-Louis David quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/)

## 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

> [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": "To give a body and a perfect form to one's thought, this - and only this - is to be an artist.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jacques-Louis David"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/to-give-a-body-and-a-perfect-form-to-one-s-thought-this-and-only-this/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/to-give-a-body-and-a-perfect-form-to-one-s-thought-this-and-only-this/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jacques-louis-david-55514_art_to-give-a-body-and-a-perfect-form-to-one_1410339.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jacques-louis-david-55514_art_to-give-a-body-and-a-perfect-form-to-one_1410339.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jacques-louis-david-55514_art_to-give-a-body-and-a-perfect-form-to-one_1410339.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To give a body and a perfect form to one's thought, this - and only this - is to be an artist.” — Jacques-Louis David",
                "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": "Jacques-Louis David",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "To give a body and a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/to-give-a-body-and-a-perfect-form-to-one-s-thought-this-and-only-this/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/to-give-a-body-and-a-perfect-form-to-one-s-thought-this-and-only-this/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
