--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Artists can no more speak about their…" description: "\"Artists can no more speak about their work, than plants can speak about horticulture.\" — Jean Cocteau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/jean-cocteau-1181_art_artists-can-no-more-speak-about-their-wo_2484041.jpg" --- # Artists can no more speak about their work, than plants… ![“Artists can no more speak about their work, than plants can speak about horticulture.” quote by Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/jean-cocteau-1181_art_artists-can-no-more-speak-about-their-wo_2484041.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/jean-cocteau-1181_art_artists-can-no-more-speak-about-their-wo_2484041.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/jean-cocteau-1181_art_artists-can-no-more-speak-about-their-wo_2484041.jpg) > “Artists can no more speak about their work, than plants can speak about horticulture.” [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists cannot explain their work any better than plants can explain horticulture; creativity is ineffable. **In simple terms:** Art is beyond words. Key Takeaway Accept mystery in creation. Themes creativity communication limitations Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - art criticism - teaching art - public speaking - personal reflection Key Concepts aesthetic theory expression ineffability Questions to Reflect On - How do you convey art without words? - What does silence reveal about creativity? A Different Perspective Words often fail to capture artistic intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artists Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists-speak-896534/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Horticulture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horticulture/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Plants Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plants-speak-896533/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Speak Horticulture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-horticulture-896532/) [Work Plants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-plants-896535/) ## Related quotes > [“An artist cannot speak about his art anymore than a plant can discuss horticulture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/an-artist-cannot-speak-about-his-art-anymore-than-a-plant-can-discuss/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Artists speak the truth to the public without fear of retribution or damage to their careers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-silver/artists-speak-the-truth-to-the-public-without-fear-of-retribution-or/) [Ron Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-silver/) > [If artists cannot speak up for human dignity or rights, then who else will do it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/if-artists-cannot-speak-up-for-human-dignity-or-rights-then-who-else/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Well, a lot of people within government and big business are nervous of Hip Hop and Hip Hop artists, because they speak their minds.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/afrika-bambaataa/well-a-lot-of-people-within-government-and-big-business-are-nervous/) [Afrika Bambaataa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/afrika-bambaataa/) > [Artists will sometimes speak of Rome with disparagement or indifference while it is before them; but no artist ewer lived in Rome and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stillman-hillard/artists-will-sometimes-speak-of-rome-with-disparagement-or/) [George Stillman Hillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stillman-hillard/) > [That a viewer does not see what the artist intended does not make the composition a failure... In reality all artists speak first to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/that-a-viewer-does-not-see-what-the-artist-intended-does-not-make-the/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [Artists speak to a different part of us, bypassing the cloudy filter of reason and the fears and prejudices of the habitual mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-nisker/artists-speak-to-a-different-part-of-us-bypassing-the-cloudy-filter/) [Wes Nisker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-nisker/) > [Poets and artists who speak of the mystery are rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/poets-and-artists-who-speak-of-the-mystery-are-rare/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“Years ago, when she'd studied the constructions of stem, blade, stamen, ovule, she loved the infinite possibilities of the plant kingdom- but she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/years-ago-when-she-d-studied-the-constructions-of-stem-blade-stamen/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“There is a delicate-looking plant native to North America called bleeding heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-aterovis/there-is-a-delicate-looking-plant-native-to-north-america-called/) [Josh Aterovis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-aterovis/) > [“Note what the catalogue says about colour and height and time of flowering, choose the appropriate shade of crayon and mark position of plant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethelind-fearon/note-what-the-catalogue-says-about-colour-and-height-and-time-of/) [Ethelind Fearon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethelind-fearon/) > [“One cannot analyse the character of European gardens without looking beyond the Mediterranean. This is because horticulture, palace life and city-building developed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-turner/one-cannot-analyse-the-character-of-european-gardens-without-looking/) [Tom Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-turner/) > [You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/you-can-lead-a-horticulture-but-you-can-t-make-her-think/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [“Biological evidence indicates that man, evolving with his food plants, developed horticulture and agriculture in both hemispheres at a time which may well have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/biological-evidence-indicates-that-man-evolving-with-his-food-plants/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A garden full of sweet odours is a garden full of charm, a most precious kind of charm not to be implanted by mere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilder/a-garden-full-of-sweet-odours-is-a-garden-full-of-charm-a-most/) [Louise Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilder/) ## More by Jean Cocteau > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I am happy to exhibit, but not to put myself on exhibition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-am-happy-to-exhibit-but-not-to-put-myself-on-exhibition/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Love is mainly an affair of short spasms. If these spasms disappoint us, love dies. It is very seldom that it weathers the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/love-is-mainly-an-affair-of-short-spasms-if-these-spasms-disappoint/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I believe in luck: how else can you explain the success of those you dislike?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-believe-in-luck-how-else-can-you-explain-the-success-of-those-you/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I have a piece of great and sad news to tell you: I am dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-have-a-piece-of-great-and-sad-news-to-tell-you-i-am-dead/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Fight any instinct to be humorless, for humorlessness is the worst of all absurdities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/fight-any-instinct-to-be-humorless-for-humorlessness-is-the-worst-of/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Lying is the only art form that the public sanctions and instinctively prefers to reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/lying-is-the-only-art-form-that-the-public-sanctions-and/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [The dead drug leaves a ghost behind. At certain hours it haunts the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/the-dead-drug-leaves-a-ghost-behind-at-certain-hours-it-haunts-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [“Vivre est une chute horizontale”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/vivre-est-une-chute-horizontale/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I expect a black silence that is almost as violent as laughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-expect-a-black-silence-that-is-almost-as-violent-as-laughter/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [My method is simple: not to bother about poetry. It must come of its own accord. Merely whispering its name drives it away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/my-method-is-simple-not-to-bother-about-poetry-it-must-come-of-its/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [If a poet has a dream, it is not of becoming famous, but of being believed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/if-a-poet-has-a-dream-it-is-not-of-becoming-famous-but-of-being/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Lack of manners is the sign of a hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/lack-of-manners-is-the-sign-of-a-hero/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [What the public criticizes in you, cultivate. It is you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-the-public-criticizes-in-you-cultivate-it-is-you/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Here I am trying to live, or rather, I am trying to teach the death within me how to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/here-i-am-trying-to-live-or-rather-i-am-trying-to-teach-the-death/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) [Explore all 255 Jean Cocteau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) ## 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. 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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. 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