--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good painting is the kind that looks like…" description: "\"Good painting is the kind that looks like sculpture.\" — Michelangelo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/michelangelo-2976_artist_good-painting-is-the-kind-that-looks-lik_2878140.jpg" --- # Good painting is the kind that looks like sculpture. ![“Good painting is the kind that looks like sculpture.” quote by Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/michelangelo-2976_artist_good-painting-is-the-kind-that-looks-lik_2878140.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/michelangelo-2976_artist_good-painting-is-the-kind-that-looks-lik_2878140.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/michelangelo-2976_artist_good-painting-is-the-kind-that-looks-lik_2878140.jpg) > “Good painting is the kind that looks like sculpture.” [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) ## 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 that possesses sculptural qualities emphasizes depth, form, and tactile presence. **In simple terms:** Good painting feels three‑dimensional. Key Takeaway Aim for depth in visual art. Themes art sculpture visual perception Mood creative instructive Type artistic technical When to use this quote - gallery curation - art education - design - architecture Key Concepts form texture spatial awareness Questions to Reflect On - How can you convey solidity on canvas? - What elements create a sculptural feel? A Different Perspective May ignore painterly techniques. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Good Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-painting-349413/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Like Sculpture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-sculpture-340986/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-kind-381811/) [Sculpture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculpture/) ## Related quotes > [One thing that really interests me is-and it comes out of Chinese and Japanese painting-where you have a number of different kinds of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-heilmann/one-thing-that-really-interests-me-is-and-it-comes-out-of-chinese-and/) [Mary Heilmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-heilmann/) > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [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/) > [I like sculpture with broken pieces of Greek ships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-zane/i-like-sculpture-with-broken-pieces-of-greek-ships/) [Billy Zane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-zane/) > [“There's so many dimensions to me. I am not a flat surface that can express myself like a painting, but more like a sculpture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-k-cook/there-s-so-many-dimensions-to-me-i-am-not-a-flat-surface-that-can/) [K.K. Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-k-cook/) > [Writing nonfiction is more like sculpture, a matter of shaping the research into the finished thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/writing-nonfiction-is-more-like-sculpture-a-matter-of-shaping-the-2/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [And like no other sculpture in the history of art, the dead engine and dead airframe come to life at the touch of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/and-like-no-other-sculpture-in-the-history-of-art-the-dead-engine-and/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [I try to consider each body of work on its own terms, discretely, so terms like 'sculpture' or 'photography', in their broad sense, don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walead-beshty/i-try-to-consider-each-body-of-work-on-its-own-terms-discretely-so/) [Walead Beshty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walead-beshty/) > [“Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty— a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture, without appeal to any part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/mathematics-rightly-viewed-possesses-not-only-truth-but-supreme-2/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [You have to create your life. You have to carve it, like a sculpture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/you-have-to-create-your-life-you-have-to-carve-it-like-a-sculpture/) [William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/) > [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/) > [Good painting is nothing else but a copy of the perfections of God and a reminder of His painting. Finally, good painting is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/good-painting-is-nothing-else-but-a-copy-of-the-perfections-of-god/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [Painting is the same kind of problem as unfolding a long, sustained interlocked argument... It is a proposition commanded by a single unity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/painting-is-the-same-kind-of-problem-as-unfolding-a-long-sustained/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Painting is a kind of call and response. During the act of painting one is listening, paying attention to a self, a voice simultaneously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/squeak-carnwath/painting-is-a-kind-of-call-and-response-during-the-act-of-painting/) [Squeak Carnwath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/squeak-carnwath/) ## More by Michelangelo > [The power of one fair face makes my love sublime, for it has weaned my heart from low desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/the-power-of-one-fair-face-makes-my-love-sublime-for-it-has-weaned-my/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [To know each other is the best way to understand each other. To understand each other is the only way to love each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/to-know-each-other-is-the-best-way-to-understand-each-other-to/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/the-marble-not-yet-carved-can-hold-the-form-of-every-thought-the/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [A great sculpture can roll down a hill without breaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/a-great-sculpture-can-roll-down-a-hill-without-breaking/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/the-sculpture-is-already-complete-within-the-marble-block-before-i/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [What one has most to work and struggle for in painting is to do the work with a great amount of labour and sweat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/what-one-has-most-to-work-and-struggle-for-in-painting-is-to-do-the/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [If the wine is not good, then throw it out!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/if-the-wine-is-not-good-then-throw-it-out/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [An artist does his most difficult work when he steps back from the blank canvas and thinks about what he is going to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/an-artist-does-his-most-difficult-work-when-he-steps-back-from-the/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [There is no greater harm than that of time wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/there-is-no-greater-harm-than-that-of-time-wasted/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [It is better decoration when, in painting, some monstrosity is introduced for variety and a relaxation of the senses and to attract the attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/it-is-better-decoration-when-in-painting-some-monstrosity-is/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [To touch is to give life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/to-touch-is-to-give-life/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [Sculpture is made by taking away, while painting is made by adding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/sculpture-is-made-by-taking-away-while-painting-is-made-by-adding/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [The more the marble wastes, The more the statue grows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/the-more-the-marble-wastes-the-more-the-statue-grows/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [When they asked Michelangelo how he made his statue of David he is reported to have said, "It is easy. You just chip away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/when-they-asked-michelangelo-how-he-made-his-statue-of-david-he-is/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [I am a poor man and of little worth, who is laboring in that art that God has given me in order to extend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/i-am-a-poor-man-and-of-little-worth-who-is-laboring-in-that-art-that/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) [Explore all 143 Michelangelo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) ## 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": "Good painting is the kind that looks like sculpture.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelangelo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/good-painting-is-the-kind-that-looks-like-sculpture/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/good-painting-is-the-kind-that-looks-like-sculpture/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/michelangelo-2976_artist_good-painting-is-the-kind-that-looks-lik_2878140.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/michelangelo-2976_artist_good-painting-is-the-kind-that-looks-lik_2878140.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/michelangelo-2976_artist_good-painting-is-the-kind-that-looks-lik_2878140.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Good painting is the kind that looks like sculpture.” — Michelangelo", "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": "Michelangelo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Good painting is the kind that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/good-painting-is-the-kind-that-looks-like-sculpture/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/good-painting-is-the-kind-that-looks-like-sculpture/#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 } } ] } ```