--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Coming to understand a painting or a…" description: "\"Coming to understand a painting or a symphony in an unfamiliar style, to recognize the work of an artist or school, to see or hear in new ways, is as c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/nelson-goodman-36048_achievement_coming-to-understand-a-painting-or-a-sym_1114049.png" --- # Coming to understand a painting or a symphony in an… ![“Coming to understand a painting or a symphony in an unfamiliar style, to recognize the work of an artist or school, to see or hear in new ways, is as cognitive an achievement as learning to read or write or add.” quote by Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/nelson-goodman-36048_achievement_coming-to-understand-a-painting-or-a-sym_1114049.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/nelson-goodman-36048_achievement_coming-to-understand-a-painting-or-a-sym_1114049.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/nelson-goodman-36048_achievement_coming-to-understand-a-painting-or-a-sym_1114049.png) > “Coming to understand a painting or a symphony in an unfamiliar style, to recognize the work of an artist or school, to see or hear in new ways, is as cognitive an achievement as learning to read or write or add.” [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding unfamiliar art forms is a complex mental skill comparable to basic literacy and numeracy. **In simple terms:** Grasping new art is a mental skill like reading. Key Takeaway Cultivate curiosity about diverse art. Themes cognition art appreciation learning Mood inquisitive enlightened Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - museum visits - music listening - art classes - self‑study - cross‑cultural exchange Key Concepts Aesthetics cognitive development Questions to Reflect On - What new art form could expand your perception? - How does learning art differ from learning language? A Different Perspective May require extensive background knowledge to fully appreciate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Learning to read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-to-read/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Even today, I dare not say that I have reached a state of achievement. I'm still learning, for learning is boundless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/even-today-i-dare-not-say-that-i-have-reached-a-state-of-achievement/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“If you understand your painting beforehand, you might as well not paint it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/if-you-understand-your-painting-beforehand-you-might-as-well-not/) [Salvador Dalí](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [What is to be done about these literary people, who will never understand that painting is a craft and that the material side comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/what-is-to-be-done-about-these-literary-people-who-will-never/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [If you understand a painting beforehand, you might as well not paint it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/if-you-understand-a-painting-beforehand-you-might-as-well-not-paint-it/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [The best way to understand a painting is by drawing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-best-way-to-understand-a-painting-is-by-drawing-it/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Everyone wants to understand painting. Why is there no attempt to understand the song of the birds?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/everyone-wants-to-understand-painting-why-is-there-no-attempt-to/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Rock roll is not obscure, it's really easy to understand. 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I can taste, and always have tasted, words. I remember when I was a kid and learning to read I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-timpf/i-have-lexical-gustatory-synesthesia-i-can-taste-and-always-have/) [Kat Timpf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-timpf/) > [Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-charles/learning-to-read-music-in-braille-and-play-by-ear-helped-me-develop-a/) [Ray Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-charles/) > [“I remembered how it had been first learning to read, how the squiggles of print finally organized themselves slowly and painfully into words, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-joy-arnold/i-remembered-how-it-had-been-first-learning-to-read-how-the-squiggles/) [Elizabeth Joy Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-joy-arnold/) > [The act of learning to read added an entirely new circuit to our hominid brain's repertoire. The long developmental process of learning to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-act-of-learning-to-read-added-an-entirely-new-circuit-to-our/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) ## More by Nelson Goodman > [An answer, once found, is dull; and the only remaining interest lies in a further effort to render equally dull what is still obscure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/an-answer-once-found-is-dull-and-the-only-remaining-interest-lies-in/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) > [What intrigues us as a problem, and what will satisfy us as a solution, will depend upon the line we draw between what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/what-intrigues-us-as-a-problem-and-what-will-satisfy-us-as-a-solution/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) > [Truth cannot be defined or tested by agreement with 'the world'; for not only do truths differ for different worlds but the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/truth-cannot-be-defined-or-tested-by-agreement-with-the-world-for-not/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) > [We make versions, and true versions make worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/we-make-versions-and-true-versions-make-worlds/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) > [I am concerned, rather, that there should not be more things dreamt of in my philosophy than there are in heaven or earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/i-am-concerned-rather-that-there-should-not-be-more-things-dreamt-of/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) > [I am concerned, rather, that there should not be more things dreamt of in my philosophy than there actually are in heaven and earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/i-am-concerned-rather-that-there-should-not-be-more-things-dreamt-of-2/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) > [For if as scientists we seek simplicity, then obviously we try the simplest surviving theory first, and retreat from it only when it proves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/for-if-as-scientists-we-seek-simplicity-then-obviously-we-try-the/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) > [“My title “The Fabrication of Facts,” has the virtue not only of indicating pretty clearly what I am going to discuss but also of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/my-title-the-fabrication-of-facts-has-the-virtue-not-only-of/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) > [If we are ready to tolerate everything as understood, there is nothing left to explain; while if we sourly refuse to take anything, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/if-we-are-ready-to-tolerate-everything-as-understood-there-is-nothing/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) > [Rules and particular inferences alike are justified by being brought into agreement with each other. A rule is amended if it yields an inference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/rules-and-particular-inferences-alike-are-justified-by-being-brought/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) > [We aim at simplicity and hope for truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/we-aim-at-simplicity-and-hope-for-truth/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) > [Any effort... to make the obscure obvious is likely to be unappealing, for the penalty of failure is confusion while the reward of success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/any-effort-to-make-the-obscure-obvious-is-likely-to-be-unappealing/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) [Explore all 13 Nelson Goodman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) ## More Achievement quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. 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Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. 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But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“If you find a way where there seems to be no way, that’s what we call miracle, not personal achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/if-you-find-a-way-where-there-seems-to-be-no-way-that-s-what-we-call/) [Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. 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There are technical challenges, but often it's the simplest challenge where you feel a sense of achievement when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/every-scene-is-a-challenge-there-are-technical-challenges-but-often/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) [Browse all 3,867 Achievement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Coming to understand a painting or a symphony in an unfamiliar style, to recognize the work of an artist or school, to see or hear in new ways, is as cognitive an achievement as learning to read or write or add.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nelson Goodman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/coming-to-understand-a-painting-or-a-symphony-in-an-unfamiliar-style/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Achievement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/coming-to-understand-a-painting-or-a-symphony-in-an-unfamiliar-style/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/nelson-goodman-36048_achievement_coming-to-understand-a-painting-or-a-sym_1114049.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/nelson-goodman-36048_achievement_coming-to-understand-a-painting-or-a-sym_1114049.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/285/nelson-goodman-36048_achievement_coming-to-understand-a-painting-or-a-sym_1114049.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Coming to understand a painting or a symphony in an unfamiliar style, to recognize the work of an artist or…” — Nelson Goodman", "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": "Nelson Goodman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Coming to understand a painting or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/coming-to-understand-a-painting-or-a-symphony-in-an-unfamiliar-style/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/coming-to-understand-a-painting-or-a-symphony-in-an-unfamiliar-style/#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 } } ] } ```