--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The paintings that really excite me have…" description: "\"The paintings that really excite me have an erotic element or side to them irrespective of subject matter\" — Lucian Freud" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/lucian-freud-12071_elements_the-paintings-that-really-excite-me-have_1754756.jpg" --- # The paintings that really excite me have an erotic element… ![“The paintings that really excite me have an erotic element or side to them irrespective of subject matter” quote by Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/lucian-freud-12071_elements_the-paintings-that-really-excite-me-have_1754756.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/lucian-freud-12071_elements_the-paintings-that-really-excite-me-have_1754756.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/lucian-freud-12071_elements_the-paintings-that-really-excite-me-have_1754756.jpg) > “The paintings that really excite me have an erotic element or side to them irrespective of subject matter” [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. His most compelling paintings contain an erotic undercurrent, regardless of the main subject. **In simple terms:** Erotic tension adds depth to his art. Key Takeaway Seek underlying sensuality in work. Themes art eroticism psychology Mood provocative introspective Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery curation - art education - creative workshops Key Concepts desire subtext human form Questions to Reflect On - How does eroticism affect interpretation? - Can art be both erotic and non‑sexual? A Different Perspective Erotic focus may alienate some viewers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Erotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erotic/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Paintings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paintings/) ## Related quotes > [The erotic element always present in fashion, the kiss of loving labor on the body, is now overtly expressed by language. Belts hug or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-erotic-element-always-present-in-fashion-the-kiss-of-loving-labor/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [There is an important erotic element in A Thousand and One Nights, which is one of the keys to understanding the Orient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahar-ben-jelloun/there-is-an-important-erotic-element-in-a-thousand-and-one-nights/) [Tahar Ben Jelloun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahar-ben-jelloun/) > [I make paintings really slowly because I change them and change them and change them and change them and change them. I don't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/i-make-paintings-really-slowly-because-i-change-them-and-change-them/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [I like when people get really close to the paintings, when they can't really get away from them, I like them to operate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/i-like-when-people-get-really-close-to-the-paintings-when-they-can-t/) [Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/) > [I'm able to sign my name to the paintings. That is really a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-keane/i-m-able-to-sign-my-name-to-the-paintings-that-is-really-a-blessing/) Margaret Keane > [I'd never painted anything before. I was quite content to take other people's work since I didn't care anyway about the subject matter. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wesselmann/i-d-never-painted-anything-before-i-was-quite-content-to-take-other/) Tom Wesselmann > ['Playboy' made the good life a reality for me and made it the subject matter of my paintings - not affluence and luxury as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/playboy-made-the-good-life-a-reality-for-me-and-made-it-the-subject/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [It is my dream to create an art which is filled with balance, purity and calmness, freed from a subject matter that is disconcerting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/it-is-my-dream-to-create-an-art-which-is-filled-with-balance-purity/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [The paintings live because their creator has been passionately attentive to their theme, and his attention has left something for us to look at.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-paintings-live-because-their-creator-has-been-passionately/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I saw Frank Frazetta's art, and it seared on my memory. I love his paintings. They're so amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-momoa/i-saw-frank-frazetta-s-art-and-it-seared-on-my-memory-i-love-his/) [Jason Momoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-momoa/) > [I want the paintings to take me or the viewer out somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/i-want-the-paintings-to-take-me-or-the-viewer-out-somewhere-else/) [Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/) > [In a way, my paintings are like my children. They have many possibilities in life. You tell them, 'I believe that you're good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-bisky/in-a-way-my-paintings-are-like-my-children-they-have-many/) [Norbert Bisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-bisky/) > [The air we see in the paintings of the old masters is never the air we breathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/the-air-we-see-in-the-paintings-of-the-old-masters-is-never-the-air/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [It is easy to have a lot of paintings or projects hanging around that are 'almost done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kinkade/it-is-easy-to-have-a-lot-of-paintings-or-projects-hanging-around-that/) [Thomas Kinkade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kinkade/) > [“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/) ## More by Lucian Freud > [A moment of complete happiness never occurs in the creation of a work of art. 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... Full, saturated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-don-t-want-any-colour-to-be-noticeable-i-don-t-want-it-to-operate/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [The character of the artist doesn't enter into the nature of the art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-character-of-the-artist-doesn-t-enter-into-the-nature-of-the-art/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [Since the model he so faithfully copies is not going to be hung up next to the picture... it is of no interest whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/since-the-model-he-so-faithfully-copies-is-not-going-to-be-hung-up/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I have a timetable, but no routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-have-a-timetable-but-no-routine/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [It is the only point of getting up every morning: to paint, to make something good, to make something even better than before, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/it-is-the-only-point-of-getting-up-every-morning-to-paint-to-make/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [Full, saturated colours have an emotional significance I want to avoid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/full-saturated-colours-have-an-emotional-significance-i-want-to-avoid/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [Sometimes, when I've been staring too hard, I've noticed that I could see the circumference of my own eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/sometimes-when-i-ve-been-staring-too-hard-i-ve-noticed-that-i-could/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [The task of the artist is to make the human being uncomfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-task-of-the-artist-is-to-make-the-human-being-uncomfortable/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I remember Francis Bacon would say that he felt he was giving art what he thought it previously lacked. 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 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": "The paintings that really excite me have an erotic element or side to them irrespective of subject matter", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lucian Freud" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-paintings-that-really-excite-me-have-an-erotic-element-or-side-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-paintings-that-really-excite-me-have-an-erotic-element-or-side-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/lucian-freud-12071_elements_the-paintings-that-really-excite-me-have_1754756.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/lucian-freud-12071_elements_the-paintings-that-really-excite-me-have_1754756.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/lucian-freud-12071_elements_the-paintings-that-really-excite-me-have_1754756.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The paintings that really excite me have an erotic element or side to them irrespective of subject matter” — 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 paintings that really excite me...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-paintings-that-really-excite-me-have-an-erotic-element-or-side-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-paintings-that-really-excite-me-have-an-erotic-element-or-side-to/#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 } } ] } ```