--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man sets himself the task of portraying…" description: "\"A man sets himself the task of portraying the world. Shortly before he dies he discovers that this patient labyrinth of lines is a drawing of his own f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e7/jorge-luis-borges-275_artist_a-man-sets-himself-the-task-of-portrayin_2797383.jpg" --- # A man sets himself the task of portraying the world… ![“A man sets himself the task of portraying the world. Shortly before he dies he discovers that this patient labyrinth of lines is a drawing of his own face.” quote by Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e7/jorge-luis-borges-275_artist_a-man-sets-himself-the-task-of-portrayin_2797383.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e7/jorge-luis-borges-275_artist_a-man-sets-himself-the-task-of-portrayin_2797383.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e7/jorge-luis-borges-275_artist_a-man-sets-himself-the-task-of-portrayin_2797383.jpg) > “A man sets himself the task of portraying the world. Shortly before he dies he discovers that this patient labyrinth of lines is a drawing of his own face.” [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## 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 realizes his work mirrors his own identity, a labyrinth of self‑portraiture. **In simple terms:** Art reflects the creator. Key Takeaway Recognize self in work. Themes identity art self‑reflection Mood introspective enigmatic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - visual arts - film - therapy Key Concepts literature philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑awareness shape creativity? - Can art transcend personal identity? A Different Perspective Self‑portraiture can be limiting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Labyrinth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labyrinth/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Through the years, a man peoples a space with images of provinces, kingdoms, mountains, bays, ships, islands, fishes, rooms, tools, stars, horses and people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/through-the-years-a-man-peoples-a-space-with-images-of-provinces/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“...when you look at a photo or realistic drawing of a face, you see it as the face of another . But when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/when-you-look-at-a-photo-or-realistic-drawing-of-a-face-you-see-it-as/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [I thought of a labyrinth of labyrinths, of one sinuous spreading labyrinth that would encompass the past and the future . . . I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-thought-of-a-labyrinth-of-labyrinths-of-one-sinuous-spreading-2/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“I think—the hero observes that nothing is so frightening as a labyrinth with no center.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-think-the-hero-observes-that-nothing-is-so-frightening-as-a/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The minotaur more than justifies the existence of the labyrinth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-minotaur-more-than-justifies-the-existence-of-the-labyrinth/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The worst labyrinth is not that intricate form that can entrap us forever, but a single and precise straight line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-worst-labyrinth-is-not-that-intricate-form-that-can-entrap-us/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“I imagined a labyrinth of labyrinths, a maze of mazes, a twisting, turning, ever-widening labyrinth that contained both past and future and somehow implied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-imagined-a-labyrinth-of-labyrinths-a-maze-of-mazes-a-twisting/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [It only takes two facing mirrors to build a labyrinth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/it-only-takes-two-facing-mirrors-to-build-a-labyrinth/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“It was under English trees that I meditated on that lost labyrinth: I pictured it perfect and inviolate on the secret summit of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/it-was-under-english-trees-that-i-meditated-on-that-lost-labyrinth-i/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [A labyrinth of symbols... An invisible labyrinth of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/a-labyrinth-of-symbols-an-invisible-labyrinth-of-time/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [There's no need to build a labyrinth when the entire universe is one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/there-s-no-need-to-build-a-labyrinth-when-the-entire-universe-is-one/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I suppose every poet has his own private mythology. Maybe he's unaware of it. People tell me that I have evolved a private mythology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-suppose-every-poet-has-his-own-private-mythology-maybe-he-s-unaware/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [A man sets out to draw the world. As the years go by, he peoples a space with images of provinces, kingdoms, mountains, bays,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/a-man-sets-out-to-draw-the-world-as-the-years-go-by-he-peoples-a/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“I thought of a labyrinth of labyrinths, of one sinuous spreading labyrinth that would encompass the past and the future and in some way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-thought-of-a-labyrinth-of-labyrinths-of-one-sinuous-spreading/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [My personal interest in ordinary people is unlimited, but I am fascinated by the challenge of portraying true greatness adequately with my camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yousuf-karsh/my-personal-interest-in-ordinary-people-is-unlimited-but-i-am/) [Yousuf Karsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yousuf-karsh/) ## More by Jorge Luis Borges > [“No hables a menos que puedas mejorar el silencio.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/no-hables-a-menos-que-puedas-mejorar-el-silencio/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Like all writers, he measured the achievements of others by what they had accomplished, asking of them that they measure him by what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/like-all-writers-he-measured-the-achievements-of-others-by-what-they/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [How can we manage to illuminate the pathos of our lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/how-can-we-manage-to-illuminate-the-pathos-of-our-lives/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Loneliness does not worry me; life is difficult enough, putting up with yourself and with your own habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/loneliness-does-not-worry-me-life-is-difficult-enough-putting-up-with/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The fact is that all writers create their precursors. Their work modifies our conception of the past, just as it is bound to modify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-fact-is-that-all-writers-create-their-precursors-their-work/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I don't think we're capable of knowledge, but I like to keep an open mind. So if you ask me whether I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-don-t-think-we-re-capable-of-knowledge-but-i-like-to-keep-an-open/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The web of time - the strands of which approach one another, bifurcate, intersect, or ignore each other through the centuries - embraces "every"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-web-of-time-the-strands-of-which-approach-one-another-bifurcate/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“My memory, sir, is like a garbage disposal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-memory-sir-is-like-a-garbage-disposal/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [When I write, I do it urged by an intimate necessity. I don't have in mind an exclusive public, or a public of multitudes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/when-i-write-i-do-it-urged-by-an-intimate-necessity-i-don-t-have-in/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The mind was dreaming. The world was its dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-mind-was-dreaming-the-world-was-its-dream/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I foresee that man will resign himself each day to new abominations, and soon that only bandits and soldiers will be left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-foresee-that-man-will-resign-himself-each-day-to-new-abominations/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“If I could live again - I will travel light, If I could live again - I'll try to work bare feet at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/if-i-could-live-again-i-will-travel-light-if-i-could-live-again-i-ll/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Every man should be capable of all ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/every-man-should-be-capable-of-all-ideas/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Writing is only a guided dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/writing-is-only-a-guided-dream/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) [Explore all 558 Jorge Luis Borges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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 > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man sets himself the task of portraying the world. 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