--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The longer you look at an object, the…" description: "\"The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.\" — Lucian Freud" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/lucian-freud-12071_abstract_the-longer-you-look-at-an-object-the-mor_2335529.jpg" --- # The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it… ![“The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.” quote by Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/lucian-freud-12071_abstract_the-longer-you-look-at-an-object-the-mor_2335529.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/lucian-freud-12071_abstract_the-longer-you-look-at-an-object-the-mor_2335529.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/lucian-freud-12071_abstract_the-longer-you-look-at-an-object-the-mor_2335529.jpg) > “The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.” [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Extended observation transforms perception, making the abstract feel tangible. **In simple terms:** Looking longer makes things clearer and more real. Key Takeaway Observe deeply to understand fully. Themes perception artistic observation abstraction Mood contemplative introspective Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - museum visits - creative brainstorming - mindful observation Key Concepts visual cognition philosophy of art Questions to Reflect On - How does time change your view of an object? - When does abstraction become clarity? A Different Perspective Prolonged focus can lead to over‑analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ## Related quotes > [The longer I look at something, the more my imagination churns and I can find somewhere to put it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-guarnaschelli/the-longer-i-look-at-something-the-more-my-imagination-churns-and-i/) [Alex Guarnaschelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-guarnaschelli/) > [Life alot longer if u look at it in minuts instead of days and months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-everett/life-alot-longer-if-u-look-at-it-in-minuts-instead-of-days-and-months/) Alex Everett > [“The longer you look the more you see," said the twins at the same time, "the more you see, the less you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-redmerski/the-longer-you-look-the-more-you-see-said-the-twins-at-the-same-time/) [J.A. Redmerski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-redmerski/) > [Ironically, it is when we identify with our spirits rather than our bodies that we are most powerful on the material plane. Our overidentification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/ironically-it-is-when-we-identify-with-our-spirits-rather-than-our/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Ironically, I grew up watching Indian movies as a kid in Russia. I am quite familiar with Bollywood. 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The promise of it is felt in the act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/a-moment-of-complete-happiness-never-occurs-in-the-creation-of-a-work/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I don't want any colour to be noticeable... I don't want it to operate in the modernist sense as colour, something independent... 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With me, it's what Yeats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-remember-francis-bacon-would-say-that-he-felt-he-was-giving-art/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I think half the point of painting a picture is that you don't know what will happen... that if painters did know what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-think-half-the-point-of-painting-a-picture-is-that-you-don-t-know/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I work from the people that interest me, and that I care about, in rooms that I live in and know. I use the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-work-from-the-people-that-interest-me-and-that-i-care-about-in/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [There is a distinction between fact and truth. Truth has an element of revelation about it. If something is true, it does more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/there-is-a-distinction-between-fact-and-truth-truth-has-an-element-of/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [The painter's obsession with his subject is all that he needs to drive him to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-painter-s-obsession-with-his-subject-is-all-that-he-needs-to/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I have a hatred of habit and routine. And what dogs love is just that. They like regular everything, and I don't have regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-have-a-hatred-of-habit-and-routine-and-what-dogs-love-is-just-that/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) [Explore all 56 Lucian Freud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. 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It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lucian Freud" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-longer-you-look-at-an-object-the-more-abstract-it-becomes-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-longer-you-look-at-an-object-the-more-abstract-it-becomes-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/lucian-freud-12071_abstract_the-longer-you-look-at-an-object-the-mor_2335529.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/lucian-freud-12071_abstract_the-longer-you-look-at-an-object-the-mor_2335529.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/lucian-freud-12071_abstract_the-longer-you-look-at-an-object-the-mor_2335529.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.” — Lucian Freud", "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": "Lucian Freud", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The longer you look at an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-longer-you-look-at-an-object-the-more-abstract-it-becomes-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-longer-you-look-at-an-object-the-more-abstract-it-becomes-and/#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 } } ] } ```