--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If an artist has no experience before he…" description: "\"If an artist has no experience before he makes a painting or a sculpture, he is not an artist.\" — Naum Gabo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/naum-gabo-37671_art_if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he_2193799.jpg" --- # If an artist has no experience before he makes a painting… ![“If an artist has no experience before he makes a painting or a sculpture, he is not an artist.” quote by Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/naum-gabo-37671_art_if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he_2193799.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/naum-gabo-37671_art_if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he_2193799.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/naum-gabo-37671_art_if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he_2193799.jpg) > “If an artist has no experience before he makes a painting or a sculpture, he is not an artist.” [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True artistry requires experiential learning; without practice, one lacks authentic insight. **In simple terms:** Art needs experience to be genuine. Key Takeaway Seek practice before claiming mastery. Themes art experience learning Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - painting - sculpture - design projects Key Concepts constructivism skill acquisition Questions to Reflect On - How does practice shape artistic identity? - Can one be a prodigy without prior experience? A Different Perspective Experience alone doesn’t guarantee talent; innate ability matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Inexperience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inexperience/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Sculpture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculpture/) ## Related quotes > [Painting and sculpture help other people to see what a wonderful world we live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-moore/painting-and-sculpture-help-other-people-to-see-what-a-wonderful/) [Henry Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-moore/) > [Three things are needed for success in painting and sculpture: to see beauty when young and accustom oneself to it, to work hard, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gian-lorenzo-bernini/three-things-are-needed-for-success-in-painting-and-sculpture-to-see/) Gian Lorenzo Bernini > [It took me 40 years to find out that painting is not sculpture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/it-took-me-40-years-to-find-out-that-painting-is-not-sculpture/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [A painting is merely the image of a tree, a man, or any other object reflected in a fountain. The difference between a painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benvenuto-cellini/a-painting-is-merely-the-image-of-a-tree-a-man-or-any-other-object/) [Benvenuto Cellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benvenuto-cellini/) > [There is something that always will be true about painting and sculpture - that in order to really get it, you have to show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-is-something-that-always-will-be-true-about-painting-and/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Painting and sculpture are very archaic forms. It's the only thing left in our industrial society where an individual alone can make something with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/painting-and-sculpture-are-very-archaic-forms-it-s-the-only-thing/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [I came to painting through sculpture, to images through objects. I think that images sit in the middle, somewhere between objects and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/i-came-to-painting-through-sculpture-to-images-through-objects-i/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [For my career, I want to be able to do projects that have serious context to them or that make me grow as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-sanders/for-my-career-i-want-to-be-able-to-do-projects-that-have-serious/) [Ashton Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-sanders/) > [Technique does not constitute art. Nor is it a vague, fuzzy romantic quality known as ‘beauty,’ remote from the realities of everyday life. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-wood/technique-does-not-constitute-art-nor-is-it-a-vague-fuzzy-romantic/) [Grant Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-wood/) > [It simply becomes more and more difficult as you move further away from your heyday, music being the only format where you're treasured for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/it-simply-becomes-more-and-more-difficult-as-you-move-further-away/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [“And in fact the artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/and-in-fact-the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [As an artist, the more experience, the better the creation. I'm a very positive person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psy/as-an-artist-the-more-experience-the-better-the-creation-i-m-a-very/) [PSY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psy/) > [In our time, we have become too interested in the artist and his or her character and experience as a way of understanding art.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/in-our-time-we-have-become-too-interested-in-the-artist-and-his-or/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Pain is such an important thing in life. I think that as an artist you have to experience suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/pain-is-such-an-important-thing-in-life-i-think-that-as-an-artist-you/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## More by Naum Gabo > [Art has no need of philosophical arguments, it does not follow the signposts of philosophical systems; Art like life, dictates systems to philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/art-has-no-need-of-philosophical-arguments-it-does-not-follow-the/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [The image my work invokes is the image of good - not evil; the image of order - not chaos; the image of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/the-image-my-work-invokes-is-the-image-of-good-not-evil-the-image-of/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [Art is not concerned with the meditation about what is and how it came to be. That is a task for knowledge. Knowledge is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/art-is-not-concerned-with-the-meditation-about-what-is-and-how-it/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [What we cannot express by the art of thinking, by the art of science or philosophy or logic, we can and should express by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/what-we-cannot-express-by-the-art-of-thinking-by-the-art-of-science/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [I consider morals and aesthetics one and the same, for they cover only one impulse, one drive inherent in our consciousness - to bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/i-consider-morals-and-aesthetics-one-and-the-same-for-they-cover-only/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [The shapes we are creating are not abstract, they are absolute. They are released from any already existant thing in nature and their content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/the-shapes-we-are-creating-are-not-abstract-they-are-absolute-they/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [We affirm depth as the only pictorial and plastic form of space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/we-affirm-depth-as-the-only-pictorial-and-plastic-form-of-space/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [We know only what we do, what we make, what we construct; and all that we make, all that we construct, are realities. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/we-know-only-what-we-do-what-we-make-what-we-construct-and-all-that/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [The way of a creative mind is always positive, it always asserts; it does not know the doubts which are so characteristic of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/the-way-of-a-creative-mind-is-always-positive-it-always-asserts-it/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [The Force of Art lies in its immediate influence on human psychology and in its active contagiousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/the-force-of-art-lies-in-its-immediate-influence-on-human-psychology/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [Being a creation of Man, art re-creates Man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/being-a-creation-of-man-art-re-creates-man/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) [Explore all 12 Naum Gabo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) ## 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 > [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": "If an artist has no experience before he makes a painting or a sculpture, he is not an artist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Naum Gabo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he-makes-a-painting-or-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he-makes-a-painting-or-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/naum-gabo-37671_art_if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he_2193799.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/naum-gabo-37671_art_if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he_2193799.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/naum-gabo-37671_art_if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he_2193799.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If an artist has no experience before he makes a painting or a sculpture, he is not an artist.” — Naum Gabo", "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": "Naum Gabo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If an artist has no experience...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he-makes-a-painting-or-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he-makes-a-painting-or-a/#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 } } ] } ```