--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no such thing as good painting…" description: "\"There is no such thing as good painting about nothing.\" — Mark Rothko" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/mark-rothko-11292_painting_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-painting_1036319.jpg" --- # There is no such thing as good painting about nothing. ![“There is no such thing as good painting about nothing.” quote by Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/mark-rothko-11292_painting_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-painting_1036319.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/mark-rothko-11292_painting_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-painting_1036319.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/mark-rothko-11292_painting_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-painting_1036319.jpg) > “There is no such thing as good painting about nothing.” [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art must convey meaning; empty abstraction lacks purpose. **In simple terms:** Art should have meaning. Key Takeaway Seek depth in creative work. Themes art meaning purpose Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - gallery curation - art education - personal creation - critique Key Concepts aesthetics existentialism Questions to Reflect On - Do you find meaning in abstract art? - What makes a painting feel purposeful? A Different Perspective Some argue that minimalism can be powerful without explicit meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-painting-349413/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Thing Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-good/) ## Related quotes > [Art, if it is successful in the task of questioning reality, if it is good painting and not merely a performance of dexterity, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swift/art-if-it-is-successful-in-the-task-of-questioning-reality-if-it-is/) [Patrick Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swift/) > [Anything is good painting material once you get to know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milne/anything-is-good-painting-material-once-you-get-to-know-it/) [David Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milne/) > [What is the use of good painting? We want a spell cast upon the optical part of our existence! We seldom really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/what-is-the-use-of-good-painting-we-want-a-spell-cast-upon-the/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [The only thing I'm good at is boxing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-briggs/the-only-thing-i-m-good-at-is-boxing/) [Shannon Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-briggs/) > [I think a good painting or a good work of art does many things it wants, I mean, maybe 15 or 20 or 100.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-think-a-good-painting-or-a-good-work-of-art-does-many-things-it/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [A good painting to me has always been like a friend. It keeps me company, comforts and inspires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hedy-lamarr/a-good-painting-to-me-has-always-been-like-a-friend-it-keeps-me/) [Hedy Lamarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hedy-lamarr/) > [Good art in general aspires to something, as a good painting aspires to something, almost spiritual or holy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/good-art-in-general-aspires-to-something-as-a-good-painting-aspires/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [A good painting should be the equivalent of a good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/a-good-painting-should-be-the-equivalent-of-a-good-deed/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [It is better to have a good painting with ten holes than ten bad paintings without any holes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/it-is-better-to-have-a-good-painting-with-ten-holes-than-ten-bad/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [Objective painting is not good painting unless it is good in the abstract sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/objective-painting-is-not-good-painting-unless-it-is-good-in-the/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [It often takes two to do a good painting - one to paint it, and another to rap the painter smartly with a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schmid/it-often-takes-two-to-do-a-good-painting-one-to-paint-it-and-another/) [Richard Schmid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schmid/) > [All my life I have worked to be able to earn my living, but I thought that one could do good painting without attracting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/all-my-life-i-have-worked-to-be-able-to-earn-my-living-but-i-thought/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [“You paint from your subject, not what you see…I rarely paint anything I don’t know very well. It was surprising to me to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/you-paint-from-your-subject-not-what-you-see-i-rarely-paint-anything/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [Painting something that defies the law of the land is good. Painting something that defies the law of the land and the law of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/painting-something-that-defies-the-law-of-the-land-is-good-painting/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) > [“The ego must be developed, not for its own sake, but because it is needed by society. If you are only interested in self-realisation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-ego-must-be-developed-not-for-its-own-sake-but-because-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Mark Rothko > [Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/art-to-me-is-an-anecdote-of-the-spirit/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [Without monsters and gods, art cannot enact a drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/without-monsters-and-gods-art-cannot-enact-a-drama/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [Many of those who are driven to this life are desperately searching for those pockets of silence where we can root and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/many-of-those-who-are-driven-to-this-life-are-desperately-searching/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [It is really a matter of ending this silence and solitude, of breathing and stretching one's arms again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/it-is-really-a-matter-of-ending-this-silence-and-solitude-of/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [This would be a distortion of their meaning, since the pictures are intimate and intense, and are the opposite of what is decorative; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/this-would-be-a-distortion-of-their-meaning-since-the-pictures-are/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [The picture must be... a revelation, an unexpected and unprecedented resolution of an eternally familiar need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/the-picture-must-be-a-revelation-an-unexpected-and-unprecedented/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [To me art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can be explored only by those willing to take the risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/to-me-art-is-an-adventure-into-an-unknown-world-which-can-be-explored/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it does not matter what one paints as long as it is well painted. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/it-is-a-widely-accepted-notion-among-painters-that-it-does-not-matter/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [There is only one thing I fear in life, my friend: One day, the black will swallow the red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/there-is-only-one-thing-i-fear-in-life-my-friend-one-day-the-black/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [I do not believe that there was ever a question of being abstract or representational. It is really a matter of ending this silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/i-do-not-believe-that-there-was-ever-a-question-of-being-abstract-or/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [Art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can only be explored by those willing to take the risks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/art-is-an-adventure-into-an-unknown-world-which-can-only-be-explored/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [If our titles recall the known myths of antiquity, we have used them again because they are the eternal symbols upon which we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/if-our-titles-recall-the-known-myths-of-antiquity-we-have-used-them/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [It is the poet and philosopher who provide the community of objectives in which the artist participates. Their chief preoccupation, like the artist, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/it-is-the-poet-and-philosopher-who-provide-the-community-of/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [The myth holds us, therefore, not through its romantic flavor, not the remembrance of beauty of some bygone age, not through the possibilities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/the-myth-holds-us-therefore-not-through-its-romantic-flavor-not-the/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [If you are moved only by the color relationships, then you miss the point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/if-you-are-moved-only-by-the-color-relationships-then-you-miss-the/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) [Explore all 60 Mark Rothko quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 good painting about nothing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Rothko" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-painting-about-nothing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-painting-about-nothing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/mark-rothko-11292_painting_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-painting_1036319.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/mark-rothko-11292_painting_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-painting_1036319.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/mark-rothko-11292_painting_there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-painting_1036319.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no such thing as good painting about nothing.” — Mark Rothko", "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": "Mark Rothko", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no such thing as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-painting-about-nothing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/there-is-no-such-thing-as-good-painting-about-nothing/#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 } } ] } ```