--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I am finishing a picture, I hold…" description: "\"When I am finishing a picture, I hold some God-made object up to it - a rock, a flower, the branch of a tree or my hand - as a final test. If the paint..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5af/marc-chagall-9569_art_when-i-am-finishing-a-picture-i-hold-som_3143196.jpg" --- # When I am finishing a picture, I hold some God-made object… ![“When I am finishing a picture, I hold some God-made object up to it - a rock, a flower, the branch of a tree or my hand - as a final test. If the painting stands up beside a thing man cannot make, the painting is authentic. If there's a clash between the two, it's bad art.” quote by Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5af/marc-chagall-9569_art_when-i-am-finishing-a-picture-i-hold-som_3143196.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5af/marc-chagall-9569_art_when-i-am-finishing-a-picture-i-hold-som_3143196.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5af/marc-chagall-9569_art_when-i-am-finishing-a-picture-i-hold-som_3143196.jpg) > “When I am finishing a picture, I hold some God-made object up to it - a rock, a flower, the branch of a tree or my hand - as a final test. If the painting stands up beside a thing man cannot make, the painting is authentic. If there's a clash between the two, it's bad art.” [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A painting is authentic when it can stand beside a natural object without seeming inferior. **In simple terms:** Art must match nature’s quality. Key Takeaway Seek harmony with nature in creation. Themes art authenticity nature comparison Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - gallery exhibition - studio practice - art critique - educational workshop Key Concepts aesthetic judgment visual harmony Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure authenticity? - Can art ever fully emulate nature? A Different Perspective Natural objects may be subjective, limiting universal standards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clash/) [Finishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finishing/) [Finishing Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finishing-picture-3190314/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Make Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-painting-1420470/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Authentic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-authentic-5610166/) [Picture Hold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture-hold-1007459/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [When I am finishing a picture, I hold some God-made object up to it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/when-i-am-finishing-a-picture-i-hold-some-god-made-object-up-to-it/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [Once, after finishing a picture, I thought I would stop for awhile, take a trip, do things-the next time I thought of this, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought-i-would-stop-for-awhile-take/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [There were days that I worked all the time, without a layoff, or a rest, finishing one picture and reporting for another sometimes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tierney/there-were-days-that-i-worked-all-the-time-without-a-layoff-or-a-rest/) [Gene Tierney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tierney/) > [Regardless of whether you speak the language or are familiar with a culture, the picture should hold up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-ritts/regardless-of-whether-you-speak-the-language-or-are-familiar-with-a/) [Herb Ritts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-ritts/) > [For me, Corsica is a place that I visited with my friends, maybe five or six times over the years, and I'm so happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-lowman/for-me-corsica-is-a-place-that-i-visited-with-my-friends-maybe-five/) [Nate Lowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-lowman/) > [I strive to make the next painting better than the last one. That's why the most exciting thing to me is the next one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lyn-nelson/i-strive-to-make-the-next-painting-better-than-the-last-one-that-s/) [Robert Lyn Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lyn-nelson/) > [Make a painting you can work on for a long period, and make it look like it doesn't show any effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/make-a-painting-you-can-work-on-for-a-long-period-and-make-it-look/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [If you are someone like Jeff Koons, and you have to work out how to make a big chrome heart or something, then there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-doig/if-you-are-someone-like-jeff-koons-and-you-have-to-work-out-how-to/) [Peter Doig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-doig/) > [I make sure I make a painting - that's my job. And I cook the Sunday dinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-childish/i-make-sure-i-make-a-painting-that-s-my-job-and-i-cook-the-sunday/) [Billy Childish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-childish/) > [If you're not an actor, or if you're any other kind of artist, there's this sense that, "I must express this thing." Why make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lola-kirke/if-you-re-not-an-actor-or-if-you-re-any-other-kind-of-artist-there-s/) [Lola Kirke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lola-kirke/) > [There are different kinds of concentration required to make a painting, different kinds of being present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bradley/there-are-different-kinds-of-concentration-required-to-make-a/) [Joe Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bradley/) > [In fine arts, when you make a painting, it's just a painting. But if you make a painting in the entertainment industry, it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-w-k/in-fine-arts-when-you-make-a-painting-it-s-just-a-painting-but-if-you/) [Andrew W.K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-w-k/) > [No, the thing to do is try to make a painting that will be alive in your own lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/no-the-thing-to-do-is-try-to-make-a-painting-that-will-be-alive-in/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [When you make a painting, even abstract, there is always a sort of necessary filling-in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/when-you-make-a-painting-even-abstract-there-is-always-a-sort-of/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [“Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/cooking-a-meal-that-would-be-consumed-in-fifteen-minutes-had-no/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) ## More by Marc Chagall > [My works are dear to me, each in its own way, I shall have to answer for them on the Day off Judgement. God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/my-works-are-dear-to-me-each-in-its-own-way-i-shall-have-to-answer/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [My hands were too soft.. I had to find some special occupation, some kind of work that would not force me to turn away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/my-hands-were-too-soft-i-had-to-find-some-special-occupation-some/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [What counts is art. painting, a kind of painting that is quite different from what everyone makes it out to be. But what kind?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/what-counts-is-art-painting-a-kind-of-painting-that-is-quite/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [Color is everything. When color is right, form is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/color-is-everything-when-color-is-right-form-is-right/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [For me Christ has always symbolized the true type of the Jewish martyr.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/for-me-christ-has-always-symbolized-the-true-type-of-the-jewish-martyr/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [The freer the soul, the more abstract painting becomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/the-freer-the-soul-the-more-abstract-painting-becomes/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [Art must be an expression of love or it is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/art-must-be-an-expression-of-love-or-it-is-nothing/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [I am a child who is getting on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/i-am-a-child-who-is-getting-on/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [“Art seems to me to be a state of soul more than anything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/art-seems-to-me-to-be-a-state-of-soul-more-than-anything-else/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [We all know that a good person can be a bad artist.But no one will ever be a genuine artist unless he is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/we-all-know-that-a-good-person-can-be-a-bad-artist-but-no-one-will/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [Only love interests me, and I am only in contact with things that revolve around love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/only-love-interests-me-and-i-am-only-in-contact-with-things-that/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [In spite of everything, there is still no more wonderful vocation than to continue to tolerate events and to work on in the name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/in-spite-of-everything-there-is-still-no-more-wonderful-vocation-than/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [“I had only to open my bedroom window, and blue air, love, and flowers entered with her”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/i-had-only-to-open-my-bedroom-window-and-blue-air-love-and-flowers/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [My name is Marc, my emotional life is sensitive and my purse is empty, but they say I have talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/my-name-is-marc-my-emotional-life-is-sensitive-and-my-purse-is-empty/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [Changes in societal structure and in art would possess more credibility if they had their origins in the soul and spirit. If people read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/changes-in-societal-structure-and-in-art-would-possess-more/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) [Explore all 69 Marc Chagall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) ## More Art quotes > [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/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [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/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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