--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is not emotion. Art is the medium in…" description: "\"Art is not emotion. Art is the medium in which emotion is expressed.\" — Nadia Boulanger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/nadia-boulanger-17786_art_art-is-not-emotion-art-is-the-medium-in_1310501.png" --- # Art is not emotion. Art is the medium in which emotion is… ![“Art is not emotion. Art is the medium in which emotion is expressed.” quote by Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/nadia-boulanger-17786_art_art-is-not-emotion-art-is-the-medium-in_1310501.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/nadia-boulanger-17786_art_art-is-not-emotion-art-is-the-medium-in_1310501.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/nadia-boulanger-17786_art_art-is-not-emotion-art-is-the-medium-in_1310501.png) > “Art is not emotion. Art is the medium in which emotion is expressed.” [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art serves as a conduit for emotion, allowing feelings to be expressed and experienced through a medium. **In simple terms:** Art transmits emotion. Key Takeaway Use art to explore and communicate feelings. Themes art emotion expression creativity Mood thoughtful creative Type inspirational educational When to use this quote - painting - music - writing - dance - therapy Key Concepts aesthetic theory psychology of art Questions to Reflect On - What emotions do you convey through your art? - How does the medium affect the feeling? A Different Perspective Art may be misunderstood without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-emotion-1155676/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Emotion Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-art-626869/) [Emotion Expressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-expressed-2796474/) [Medium Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medium-emotion-4334172/) [Mediums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediums/) ## Related quotes > [Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is no longer art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be-explained-it-is-no-longer-art/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [Emotion may be expressed, or the utter lack of it may be expressed, but the only important fact is that of expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mortensen/emotion-may-be-expressed-or-the-utter-lack-of-it-may-be-expressed-but/) [William Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mortensen/) > [“people’s social world; the emotion expressed is within their comfort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/people-s-social-world-the-emotion-expressed-is-within-their-comfort/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Me: "All right, but you said we had to put emotion into our art. I don't know what that means. I don't know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/me-all-right-but-you-said-we-had-to-put-emotion-into-our-art-i-don-t/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [In my sculpture, it's not an image I am seeking, it's not an idea. My goal is to re-live a past emotion. My art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/in-my-sculpture-it-s-not-an-image-i-am-seeking-it-s-not-an-idea-my/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Nature is a mere pretext for a decorative composition, plus sentiment. It suggests emotion, and I translate that emotion into art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/nature-is-a-mere-pretext-for-a-decorative-composition-plus-sentiment/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [Art is emotion without desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/art-is-emotion-without-desire/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“The emotion of art is impersonal. And the poet cannot reach this impersonality without surrendering himself wholly to the work to be done. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-3/the-emotion-of-art-is-impersonal-and-the-poet-cannot-reach-this/) [T S Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-3/) > [A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/a-work-of-art-which-did-not-begin-in-emotion-is-not-art/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [“All art is immoral… For emotion for the sake of emotion is the aim of art, and emotion for the sake of action is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yosay-briels/all-art-is-immoral-for-emotion-for-the-sake-of-emotion-is-the-aim-of/) [Yosay Briels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yosay-briels/) > [Fashion is another way of expressing emotion and art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruel/fashion-is-another-way-of-expressing-emotion-and-art/) [Ruel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruel/) > [“Writing creates something new: an “art emotion,” i.e., an image of emotion, an illusion of emotion, which exists only in the context of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rami-shapiro/writing-creates-something-new-an-art-emotion-i-e-an-image-of-emotion/) [Rami Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rami-shapiro/) > [Art without emotion is like chocolate cake without sugar, it makes you gag.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/art-without-emotion-is-like-chocolate-cake-without-sugar-it-makes-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Aesthetic emotion puts man in a state favorable to the reception of erotic emotion. Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/aesthetic-emotion-puts-man-in-a-state-favorable-to-the-reception-of/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [Whereas life separates meaning from emotion, art unites them. Story is an instrument by which you create such epiphanies at will, the phenomenon known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/whereas-life-separates-meaning-from-emotion-art-unites-them-story-is/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) ## More by Nadia Boulanger > [Nothing is better than music; when it takes us out of time, it has done more for us than we have the right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/nothing-is-better-than-music-when-it-takes-us-out-of-time-it-has-done/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [Do nothing for effect. Do it for truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/do-nothing-for-effect-do-it-for-truth/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [A great work of art is made out of a combination of obedience and liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/a-great-work-of-art-is-made-out-of-a-combination-of-obedience-and/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [Do not take up music unless you would rather die than not do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/do-not-take-up-music-unless-you-would-rather-die-than-not-do-so/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [It is one thing to be gifted and quite another thing to be worthy of one's own gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/it-is-one-thing-to-be-gifted-and-quite-another-thing-to-be-worthy-of/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [As far as the execution is concerned ... the most frequent and most serious mistake is to follow the music instead of preceding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/as-far-as-the-execution-is-concerned-the-most-frequent-and-most/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [I adore tradition. I cannot stand habit. Simply to repeat is nothing, also to destroy is nothing. Tradition is never interrupted, we are always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/i-adore-tradition-i-cannot-stand-habit-simply-to-repeat-is-nothing/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [The history of harmony is the history of the development of the human ear, which has gradually assimilated, in their natural order, the successive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/the-history-of-harmony-is-the-history-of-the-development-of-the-human/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [In music everything is prolonged, everything is edified, and when the enchantment has ceased, we are still bathed in its clarity; solitude is accompanied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/in-music-everything-is-prolonged-everything-is-edified-and-when-the/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [To study music, we must learn the rules. To create music, we must break them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/to-study-music-we-must-learn-the-rules-to-create-music-we-must-break/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [A great work is made out of a combination of obedience and liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/a-great-work-is-made-out-of-a-combination-of-obedience-and-liberty/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [You should never listen to someone practice. That is their work and theirs alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/you-should-never-listen-to-someone-practice-that-is-their-work-and/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [Great art likes chains. The greatest artists have created art within bounds. Or else they have created their own chains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/great-art-likes-chains-the-greatest-artists-have-created-art-within/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [Life is denied by lack of attention, whether it be to cleaning windows or trying to write a masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/life-is-denied-by-lack-of-attention-whether-it-be-to-cleaning-windows/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [Without order there can be no inner satisfaction. Without inner satisfaction there can be no freedom. Without freedom there is no joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/without-order-there-can-be-no-inner-satisfaction-without-inner/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) [Explore all 36 Nadia Boulanger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) ## 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. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [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 only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [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/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Art is not emotion. 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