--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every painted image of something is also…" description: "\"Every painted image of something is also about the absence of the real thing. All painting is about the presence of absence.\" — John Berger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/john-berger-1590_absence_every-painted-image-of-something-is-also_2664914.png" --- # Every painted image of something is also about the absence… ![“Every painted image of something is also about the absence of the real thing. All painting is about the presence of absence.” quote by John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/john-berger-1590_absence_every-painted-image-of-something-is-also_2664914.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/john-berger-1590_absence_every-painted-image-of-something-is-also_2664914.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/john-berger-1590_absence_every-painted-image-of-something-is-also_2664914.png) > “Every painted image of something is also about the absence of the real thing. All painting is about the presence of absence.” [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Paintings highlight what is missing as much as what is present, emphasizing absence as a core element of art. **In simple terms:** Art shows both presence and absence. Key Takeaway Notice what is left out in visual works. Themes art perception philosophy Mood contemplative analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery visits - art criticism - creative practice - education Key Concepts absence representation visual language Questions to Reflect On - How does absence shape meaning? - What does the missing element suggest? A Different Perspective Absence may be interpreted differently by viewers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [“In the absence of real thunder, he's making his own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/in-the-absence-of-real-thunder-he-s-making-his-own/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [Creation rather than painting, or if painting, yet such, and with such co-presence of the whole picture flash'd at once upon the eye, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/creation-rather-than-painting-or-if-painting-yet-such-and-with-such/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [When you find inner peace, neither the presence nor absence of any person, place or thing, condition, circumstance, or situation can be the Creator…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/when-you-find-inner-peace-neither-the-presence-nor-absence-of-any/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“When we wait for the unexpected, we open a philosophical and phenomenological dialogue about presence, absence, perception, and the psychological tension of expectation. .(…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-we-wait-for-the-unexpected-we-open-a-philosophical-and/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [: There are only two on-buttons for fear, in any permutation you want. One is when something that shouldn't be is, meaning a presence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/there-are-only-two-on-buttons-for-fear-in-any-permutation-you-want/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [I think you can photograph a certain sliver of human presence in its absence... images taken in the empty rooms, the marks left on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-kuhn/i-think-you-can-photograph-a-certain-sliver-of-human-presence-in-its/) [Mona Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-kuhn/) > [“She felt it when she woke, not a presence but an absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-hawkins/she-felt-it-when-she-woke-not-a-presence-but-an-absence/) [Paula Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-hawkins/) > [“Presence and Absence A certain person may have, as you say, a wonderful presence: I do not know. What I do know is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/presence-and-absence-a-certain-person-may-have-as-you-say-a-wonderful/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [Some people will never ever appreciate your presence until your absence becomes permanent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/some-people-will-never-ever-appreciate-your-presence-until-your/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [One of the best feelings in the world is knowing that your presence and absence both mean something to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-best-feelings-in-the-world-is-knowing-that-your-presence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Testing shows the presence, not the absence of bugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/testing-shows-the-presence-not-the-absence-of-bugs/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [The best feeling in the world is knowing your presence and absence both mean something to someone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-feeling-in-the-world-is-knowing-your-presence-and-absence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I cannot sleep in your presence In your absence, tears prevent me you watch me my beloved on each sleepiness night and Only you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-cannot-sleep-in-your-presence-in-your-absence-tears-prevent-me-you/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [ “What \[my patients\] care about is my presence or absence as a human being. They gauge with unerring eye whether I am grounded enough… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/what-my-patients-care-about-is-my-presence-or-absence-as-a-human/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [One of the best feeling in the world is knowing that the presence and absence both mean to something to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeigh-ilano/one-of-the-best-feeling-in-the-world-is-knowing-that-the-presence-and/) [Jeigh Ilano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeigh-ilano/) ## More by John Berger > [When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/when-we-read-a-story-we-inhabit-it-the-covers-of-the-book-are-like-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [The impulse to paint comes neither from observation nor from the soul (which is probably blind) but from an encounter: the encounter between painter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-impulse-to-paint-comes-neither-from-observation-nor-from-the-soul/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Oil painting did to appearances what capital did to social relations. It reduced everything to the equality of objects. Everything became exchangeable because everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/oil-painting-did-to-appearances-what-capital-did-to-social-relations/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Landscapes can be deceptive. Sometimes a landscape seems to be less a setting for the life of its inhabitants than a curtain behind which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/landscapes-can-be-deceptive-sometimes-a-landscape-seems-to-be-less-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We live in a dominant culture of ceaseless Departure and Progress that has so far lasted two or three centuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-live-in-a-dominant-culture-of-ceaseless-departure-and-progress/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [My heart born naked was swaddled in lullabies. Later alone it wore poems for clothes. Like a shirt I carried on my back the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/my-heart-born-naked-was-swaddled-in-lullabies-later-alone-it-wore/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [ There's the artist's intimacy and truthfulness to himself, but an equal intimacy to the Other \[the one drawn\]. Picasso drawings are like that... the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/there-s-the-artist-s-intimacy-and-truthfulness-to-himself-but-an/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Traditional Chinese art looked at the Earth from a Confucian mountain top; Japanese art looked closely around screens; Italian Renaissance art surveyed conquered nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/traditional-chinese-art-looked-at-the-earth-from-a-confucian-mountain/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Never again shall a single story be told as though it were the only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/never-again-shall-a-single-story-be-told-as-though-it-were-the-only/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [In drawing after drawing, pastel after pastel, painting after painting, the contours of Degas's dancing figures become, at a certain point, darkly insistent, tangled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/in-drawing-after-drawing-pastel-after-pastel-painting-after-painting/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-never-look-at-just-one-thing-we-are-always-looking-at-the-relation/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We can become anything. That is why injustice is impossible here. There may be the accident of birth, there is no accident of death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-can-become-anything-that-is-why-injustice-is-impossible-here-there/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Capitalism survives by forcing the majority, whom it exploits, to define their own interests as narrowly as possible. This was once achieved by extensive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/capitalism-survives-by-forcing-the-majority-whom-it-exploits-to/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [The camera relieves us of the burden of memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-camera-relieves-us-of-the-burden-of-memory/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“Today we see the art of the past as nobody saw it before. We actually perceive it in a different way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/today-we-see-the-art-of-the-past-as-nobody-saw-it-before-we-actually/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) [Explore all 214 John Berger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. 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Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every painted image of something is also about the absence of the real thing. 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