--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no such thing as starting where…" description: "\"There is no such thing as starting where Cezanne left off. You have to start where he started... at the beginning.\" — Kimon Nicolaides" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/kimon-nicolaides-31321_artist_there-is-no-such-thing-as-starting-where_2378563.png" --- # There is no such thing as starting where Cezanne left off… ![“There is no such thing as starting where Cezanne left off. You have to start where he started... at the beginning.” quote by Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/kimon-nicolaides-31321_artist_there-is-no-such-thing-as-starting-where_2378563.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/kimon-nicolaides-31321_artist_there-is-no-such-thing-as-starting-where_2378563.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/kimon-nicolaides-31321_artist_there-is-no-such-thing-as-starting-where_2378563.png) > “There is no such thing as starting where Cezanne left off. You have to start where he started... at the beginning.” [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists must begin at the fundamentals, not by copying later works; true learning starts from the basics. **In simple terms:** Start at the beginning, not where others left off. Key Takeaway Return to foundational basics. Themes art learning foundation Mood instructive thoughtful Type educational artistic When to use this quote - art education - skill building - creative block Key Concepts creative process historical influence Questions to Reflect On - How can you blend fundamentals with originality? - What basics do you need to revisit? A Different Perspective Focusing only on basics may limit innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cezanne/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [I used to write chronologically when I started, from beginning to end. 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Everything I started in the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-dyrdek/i-had-to-learn-the-hard-way-there-was-a-blindness-without-any/) [Rob Dyrdek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-dyrdek/) > [I think what's wonderful is that 'Community' has always had its voice, has always had it's vision, and that started from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rash/i-think-what-s-wonderful-is-that-community-has-always-had-its-voice/) [Jim Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rash/) > [Performing on stage is what I've done since I was a kid and it's where the passion that has started from the very beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haley-reinhart/performing-on-stage-is-what-i-ve-done-since-i-was-a-kid-and-it-s/) [Haley Reinhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haley-reinhart/) > [My Two Years resolution started at the beginning of last year and is continuing on..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sparks-janeway/my-two-years-resolution-started-at-the-beginning-of-last-year-and-is/) Kevin Sparks Janeway > [“Mrs Chadwick used to say the same about my English, about going round the houses. But to be honest, I like going round the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shearer/mrs-chadwick-used-to-say-the-same-about-my-english-about-going-round/) Alex Shearer > [It seems as if only now I really know who I am. My strengths, my weaknesses, my jealousiesits as if all of it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/it-seems-as-if-only-now-i-really-know-who-i-am-my-strengths-my/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) > [One of Cezanne's unfinished paintings... appears to be a completed work even though only a few strokes of paint have been put down. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-willard/one-of-cezanne-s-unfinished-paintings-appears-to-be-a-completed-work/) [Christopher Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-willard/) > [The painter I really thought I could learn from was Cezanne - some sort of resemblance to oranges and greens and browns of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-painter-i-really-thought-i-could-learn-from-was-cezanne-some-sort/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [What interests me is to paint the kind of antisensitivity that impregnates modern civilization. I think art since Cezanne has become extremely romantic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/what-interests-me-is-to-paint-the-kind-of-antisensitivity-that/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [The paradox in the evolution of French painting from Courbet to Cezanne is how it was brought to the verge of abstraction in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-paradox-in-the-evolution-of-french-painting-from-courbet-to/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [The people who do better and better work are people who are never satisfied. Cezanne would say, 'I think I've accomplished something,' but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-galenson/the-people-who-do-better-and-better-work-are-people-who-are-never/) [David Galenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-galenson/) > [If Picasso drips, I drip... For a long while I was with Cezanne, and now I am with Picasso.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arshile-gorky/if-picasso-drips-i-drip-for-a-long-while-i-was-with-cezanne-and-now-i/) [Arshile Gorky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arshile-gorky/) > [My best songs were written very quickly. Just about as much time as it takes to write it down is about as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/my-best-songs-were-written-very-quickly-just-about-as-much-time-as-it/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“Indeed, the idea that doubt can be heroic, if it is locked into a structure as grand as that of the paintings of Cezanne's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/indeed-the-idea-that-doubt-can-be-heroic-if-it-is-locked-into-a/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) ## More by Kimon Nicolaides > [All that you need in the way of technique for drawing is bound up in the technique of seeing - that is, of understanding,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/all-that-you-need-in-the-way-of-technique-for-drawing-is-bound-up-in/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Learning to draw is really a matter of learning to see - to see correctly - and that means a good deal more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/learning-to-draw-is-really-a-matter-of-learning-to-see-to-see/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [You should draw not what the thing looks like, not even what it is, but what it is doing... Gesture has no precise edges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/you-should-draw-not-what-the-thing-looks-like-not-even-what-it-is-but/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Man can make only the rules. He cannot make the laws, which are the laws of nature. It is the understanding of these laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/man-can-make-only-the-rules-he-cannot-make-the-laws-which-are-the/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [The sooner you make your first five thousand mistakes the sooner you will be able to correct them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/the-sooner-you-make-your-first-five-thousand-mistakes-the-sooner-you/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [There is only one right way to draw... physical contact with all sorts of objects through all the senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/there-is-only-one-right-way-to-draw-physical-contact-with-all-sorts/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Technique should be taught, not as an end in itself, but as something related to individual expression, as a means toward an end. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/technique-should-be-taught-not-as-an-end-in-itself-but-as-something/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Committing oneself to a technique causes stagnation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/committing-oneself-to-a-technique-causes-stagnation/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [You are not to think of painting as something separate from drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/you-are-not-to-think-of-painting-as-something-separate-from-drawing/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [To understand theory is not enough. Much practice is necessary...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/to-understand-theory-is-not-enough-much-practice-is-necessary/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [You cannot govern the creative impulse; all you can do is eliminate obstacles and smooth the way for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/you-cannot-govern-the-creative-impulse-all-you-can-do-is-eliminate/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [When we use numbers we are using symbols, and it is only when we transfer them to life that they become actualities. The same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/when-we-use-numbers-we-are-using-symbols-and-it-is-only-when-we/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [“The first function of an art student is to observe, to study nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/the-first-function-of-an-art-student-is-to-observe-to-study-nature/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Merely to see... is not enough. It is necessary to have a fresh, vivid, physical contact with the object you draw through as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/merely-to-see-is-not-enough-it-is-necessary-to-have-a-fresh-vivid/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Art should be concerned more with life than with art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/art-should-be-concerned-more-with-life-than-with-art/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) [Explore all 16 Kimon Nicolaides quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) ## 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": "There is no such thing as starting where Cezanne left off. 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