--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fiction is an expressionist painting…" description: "\"Fiction is an expressionist painting rather than a photograph.\" — Josip Novakovich" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/josip-novakovich-16473_artist_fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rat_1214859.png" --- # Fiction is an expressionist painting rather than a… ![“Fiction is an expressionist painting rather than a photograph.” quote by Josip Novakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/josip-novakovich-16473_artist_fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rat_1214859.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/josip-novakovich-16473_artist_fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rat_1214859.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/josip-novakovich-16473_artist_fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rat_1214859.png) > “Fiction is an expressionist painting rather than a photograph.” [Josip Novakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josip-novakovich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction creates imaginative, subjective experiences like a painting, rather than factual, literal representations like a photograph. **In simple terms:** Stories are artistic, not factual. Key Takeaway Embrace creative interpretation. Themes creativity artistic expression subjectivity perception Mood thoughtful inspired analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing fiction - teaching literature - analyzing art - communicating ideas Key Concepts literary theory visual metaphor interpretive freedom Questions to Reflect On - What does this metaphor change about reading fiction? - How does visual art influence storytelling? A Different Perspective Some may argue fiction should aim for realism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) ## Related quotes > [I had always loved expressionist painting, like every European. In fact I admired it all the more because these were precisely the paintings despised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-had-always-loved-expressionist-painting-like-every-european-in-fact/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I was not an Abstract Expressionist. Nor was I an Irascible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hedda-sterne/i-was-not-an-abstract-expressionist-nor-was-i-an-irascible/) [Hedda Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hedda-sterne/) > [After being an Impressionist, Cubist, and an Abstract Expressionist, I was influenced by realistic artists, including Andrew Wyeth in the late '50s, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bateman/after-being-an-impressionist-cubist-and-an-abstract-expressionist-i/) [Robert Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bateman/) > [“I’d paint with a beard if I could grow out of my abstract expressionist phase.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-d-paint-with-a-beard-if-i-could-grow-out-of-my-abstract/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I was an abstract expressionist before I had seen any abstract expressionist paintings. I started when I was a kid and continued just doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/i-was-an-abstract-expressionist-before-i-had-seen-any-abstract/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [I would describe my work as expressionist. The expressionist point of view is stressing your own feelings about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-lawrence/i-would-describe-my-work-as-expressionist-the-expressionist-point-of/) [Jacob Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-lawrence/) > [I'm not an Abstraction Expressionist, but I think dedication to paintings comes from an early interest in that work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/i-m-not-an-abstraction-expressionist-but-i-think-dedication-to/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [I don't know if I'm an impressionist or an expressionist. You can call me an American first... 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In Daruvar, Croatia, he bought a piano, sat my oldest brother at it, and hired a teacher. Whenever Vlado made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josip-novakovich/my-father-tried-it-in-daruvar-croatia-he-bought-a-piano-sat-my-oldest/) [Josip Novakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josip-novakovich/) > [“It was clear that people were not rushing to the shelves. 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It's easier to be inspired while writing than while not writing...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josip-novakovich/you-don-t-need-to-wait-for-inspiration-to-write-it-s-easier-to-be/) [Josip Novakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josip-novakovich/) > [“Enemies keep you alert, competitive, and friendships lull you into mediocrity, and through peer pressure, keep you back and down, and eventually, down and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josip-novakovich/enemies-keep-you-alert-competitive-and-friendships-lull-you-into/) [Josip Novakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josip-novakovich/) > [“Describing men, of course, I run into the same problems—aquiline nose, chiseled features, bullish neck, leonine hair, steely gaze, bronze tan—but somehow the arsenal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josip-novakovich/describing-men-of-course-i-run-into-the-same-problems-aquiline-nose/) [Josip Novakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josip-novakovich/) > [“Diogenes heard a young man playing on the lute. 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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. 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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": "Fiction is an expressionist painting rather than a photograph.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Josip Novakovich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josip-novakovich/fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rather-than-a-photograph/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josip-novakovich/fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rather-than-a-photograph/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/josip-novakovich-16473_artist_fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rat_1214859.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/josip-novakovich-16473_artist_fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rat_1214859.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/josip-novakovich-16473_artist_fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rat_1214859.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fiction is an expressionist painting rather than a photograph.” — Josip Novakovich", "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": "Josip Novakovich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josip-novakovich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Fiction is an expressionist painting rather...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josip-novakovich/fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rather-than-a-photograph/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josip-novakovich/fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rather-than-a-photograph/#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 } } ] } ```