--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The role of the painter . . . is to…" description: "\"The role of the painter . . . is to project that which sees itself in him.\" — Max Ernst" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/max-ernst-26817_inspirational_the-role-of-the-painter-is-to-project-th_1174606.jpg" --- # The role of the painter . . . is to project that which… ![“The role of the painter . . . is to project that which sees itself in him.” quote by Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/max-ernst-26817_inspirational_the-role-of-the-painter-is-to-project-th_1174606.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/max-ernst-26817_inspirational_the-role-of-the-painter-is-to-project-th_1174606.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/max-ernst-26817_inspirational_the-role-of-the-painter-is-to-project-th_1174606.jpg) > “The role of the painter . . . is to project that which sees itself in him.” [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The painter’s task is to reflect the viewer’s own perception, turning the observer into part of the artwork. **In simple terms:** Artists show what the viewer sees in themselves. Key Takeaway Create art that invites self‑reflection. Themes art perception reflection identity creativity Mood contemplative inquisitive artistic Type narrative philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery exhibit - personal introspection - creative workshops Key Concepts aesthetics subjectivity mirror metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does your own experience shape what you see in art? - Can art change how you view yourself? A Different Perspective Interpretation varies; not all viewers see themselves. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [Living in the projects helped me with this role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pantoliano/living-in-the-projects-helped-me-with-this-role/) [Joe Pantoliano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-pantoliano/) > [Painters are noted for being dissipated and wild.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/painters-are-noted-for-being-dissipated-and-wild/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [I wanted to be a painter and an artist. And it's interesting that in some of my later musical works, I refer so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/i-wanted-to-be-a-painter-and-an-artist-and-it-s-interesting-that-in/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [I've gradually fooled myself into becoming a real painter... I really just like to sit in my air-conditioned Rome painting studio surrounded by Medieval…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kostabi/i-ve-gradually-fooled-myself-into-becoming-a-real-painter-i-really/) [Mark Kostabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kostabi/) > [But where does by far the bulk, the whole ambulance load, of pain really come from? Where must it come from? Isn't the true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/but-where-does-by-far-the-bulk-the-whole-ambulance-load-of-pain/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [A combination of the qualities of the scholar, the master cook, the painter, the gastronomer, the sportsman and the pantologist, assisted by the skill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ellwanger/a-combination-of-the-qualities-of-the-scholar-the-master-cook-the/) [George Ellwanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ellwanger/) > [When I was 12 years old, I went to Natchitoches, La.; it was summer vacation with my family. We visited a plantation, Melrose. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson/when-i-was-12-years-old-i-went-to-natchitoches-la-it-was-summer/) [Robert Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [It's different if you're a painter. You can hidethe ones that don't work. You can't do that with movies. They tellthe story of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-tucci/it-s-different-if-you-re-a-painter-you-can-hidethe-ones-that-don-t/) [Stanley Tucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-tucci/) > [Sometimes I envy painters, it is wonderful to remain in front of a bouquet of flowers a whole morning, or even longer. A photographer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-boubat/sometimes-i-envy-painters-it-is-wonderful-to-remain-in-front-of-a/) [Edouard Boubat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-boubat/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/a-painter-should-begin-every-canvas-with-a-wash-of-black-because-all/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Not everyone is capable of madness; and of those lucky enough to be capable, not many have the courage for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/not-everyone-is-capable-of-madness-and-of-those-lucky-enough-to-be/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [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/) ## More by Max Ernst > [When the artist finds himself he is lost. The fact that he has succeeded in never finding himself is regarded by Max Ernst as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/when-the-artist-finds-himself-he-is-lost-the-fact-that-he-has/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [Collage is the noble conquest of the irrational, the coupling of two realities, irreconcilable in appearance, upon a plane which apparently does not suit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/collage-is-the-noble-conquest-of-the-irrational-the-coupling-of-two/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [All good ideas arrive by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/all-good-ideas-arrive-by-chance/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [Creativity is that marvelous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/creativity-is-that-marvelous-capacity-to-grasp-mutually-distinct/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [Art has got nothing to do with taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/art-has-got-nothing-to-do-with-taste/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [Painting is neither decorative amusement, nor the plastic invention of felt reality; it must be every time: invention, discovery, revelation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/painting-is-neither-decorative-amusement-nor-the-plastic-invention-of/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [Collage is a supersensitive and scrupulously accurate instrument, similar to a seismograph, which is able to record the exact amount of the possibility of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/collage-is-a-supersensitive-and-scrupulously-accurate-instrument/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [My paintings are not meant to be tasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/my-paintings-are-not-meant-to-be-tasted/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [Who made art history? Not the most reasonable people. The mad men did. If painting is the mirror of a time, it must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/who-made-art-history-not-the-most-reasonable-people-the-mad-men-did/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [Art has nothing to do with taste. Art is not there to be tasted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/art-has-nothing-to-do-with-taste-art-is-not-there-to-be-tasted/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [I succeeded in simply attending at the birth of all my works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/i-succeeded-in-simply-attending-at-the-birth-of-all-my-works/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [I have never seen a beautiful painting of a beautiful woman. But you can take an ugly woman and make a beautiful painting of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/i-have-never-seen-a-beautiful-painting-of-a-beautiful-woman-but-you/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [Before he goes into the water, a diver cannot know what he will bring back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/before-he-goes-into-the-water-a-diver-cannot-know-what-he-will-bring/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [And Loplop, bird superior, has transformed himself into flesh without flesh and will dwell among us...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/and-loplop-bird-superior-has-transformed-himself-into-flesh-without/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) > [Painting is not for me either decorative amusement, or the plastic invention of felt reality; it must be every time: invention, discovery, revelation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/painting-is-not-for-me-either-decorative-amusement-or-the-plastic/) [Max Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) [Explore all 21 Max Ernst quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/) ## 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 role of the painter . . . is to project that which sees itself in him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Max Ernst" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/the-role-of-the-painter-is-to-project-that-which-sees-itself-in-him/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/the-role-of-the-painter-is-to-project-that-which-sees-itself-in-him/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/max-ernst-26817_inspirational_the-role-of-the-painter-is-to-project-th_1174606.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/max-ernst-26817_inspirational_the-role-of-the-painter-is-to-project-th_1174606.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/max-ernst-26817_inspirational_the-role-of-the-painter-is-to-project-th_1174606.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The role of the painter . . . is to project that which sees itself in him.” — Max Ernst", "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": "Max Ernst", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ernst/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The role of the painter ....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/the-role-of-the-painter-is-to-project-that-which-sees-itself-in-him/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ernst/the-role-of-the-painter-is-to-project-that-which-sees-itself-in-him/#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 } } ] } ```