--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is an instrument in the war against…" description: "\"Art is an instrument in the war against the enemy.\" — Pablo Picasso" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/pablo-picasso-552_art_art-is-an-instrument-in-the-war-against_2646738.jpg" --- # Art is an instrument in the war against the enemy. ![“Art is an instrument in the war against the enemy.” quote by Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/pablo-picasso-552_art_art-is-an-instrument-in-the-war-against_2646738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/pablo-picasso-552_art_art-is-an-instrument-in-the-war-against_2646738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/pablo-picasso-552_art_art-is-an-instrument-in-the-war-against_2646738.jpg) > “Art is an instrument in the war against the enemy.” [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## 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 powerful tool to challenge and undermine oppressive forces. **In simple terms:** Art fights enemies. Key Takeaway Use creative expression to resist oppression. Themes art politics resistance war culture Mood defiant inspirational Type political cultural When to use this quote - protest art - public murals - media campaigns - educational programs Key Concepts propaganda symbolism psychological warfare Questions to Reflect On - How can art mobilize people? - What limits does art face in conflict? A Different Perspective Art alone may not change material conditions without broader action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Instrument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-instrument-2315394/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Instrument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instrument/) [Instrument War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instrument-war-810777/) [Instruments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruments/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-enemy-245842/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [Painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/painting-is-not-done-to-decorate-apartments-it-is-an-instrument-of-war/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The work of art... is an instrument for tilling the human psyche, that it may continue to yield a harvest of vital beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-work-of-art-is-an-instrument-for-tilling-the-human-psyche-that-it/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Aviation is fine as a sport. But as an instrument of war, it is worthless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-foch/aviation-is-fine-as-a-sport-but-as-an-instrument-of-war-it-is/) [Ferdinand Foch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-foch/) > [For governments at war, the media is an instrument of war or an element in war that is to be controlled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/for-governments-at-war-the-media-is-an-instrument-of-war-or-an/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [No war is over until the enemy says it's over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mattis/no-war-is-over-until-the-enemy-says-it-s-over/) [Jim Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mattis/) > [I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/i-was-increasingly-compelled-to-see-the-war-as-an-enemy-of-the-poor/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [“The starkest reality of war is that the enemy is never really a monster, never inhuman ... Every soldier is the same fallible breed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-goff/the-starkest-reality-of-war-is-that-the-enemy-is-never-really-a/) [Stan Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-goff/) > [It is the function of the Navy to carry the war to the enemy so that it will not be fought on U.S. soil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-w-nimitz/it-is-the-function-of-the-navy-to-carry-the-war-to-the-enemy-so-that-2/) [Chester W. Nimitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-w-nimitz/) > [It is the function of the Navy to carry the war to the enemy so that it is not fought on U.S. soil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-w-nimitz/it-is-the-function-of-the-navy-to-carry-the-war-to-the-enemy-so-that/) [Chester W. Nimitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-w-nimitz/) > [ \[Negro\] should realize that he is living in a war zone, and he is at war with an enemy that is as vicious and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/negro-should-realize-that-he-is-living-in-a-war-zone-and-he-is-at-war/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Winston could not definitely remember a time when his country had not been at war...war had literally been continuous, though strictly speaking it had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/winston-could-not-definitely-remember-a-time-when-his-country-had-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [War is the enemy of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-starr/war-is-the-enemy-of-all-mankind/) [Edwin Starr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-starr/) > [It is an approved maxim in war, never to do what the enemy wishes you to do, for this reason alone, that he desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/it-is-an-approved-maxim-in-war-never-to-do-what-the-enemy-wishes-you/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“The War is the enemy. It runs itself on the fears of the combatants. It is a machine into which men are put and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/the-war-is-the-enemy-it-runs-itself-on-the-fears-of-the-combatants-it/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) ## More by Pablo Picasso > [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/) > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [By amusing myself with all these games, all this nonsense, all these picture puzzles, I became famous... I am only a public entertainer who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/by-amusing-myself-with-all-these-games-all-this-nonsense-all-these/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [One never knows what one is going to do. One starts a painting and then it becomes something quite different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/one-never-knows-what-one-is-going-to-do-one-starts-a-painting-and/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Now there is fame! Of all - hunger, misery, the incomprehension by the public - fame is by far the worst. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/now-there-is-fame-of-all-hunger-misery-the-incomprehension-by-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [It takes a long time to become young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-takes-a-long-time-to-become-young/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/we-all-know-that-art-is-not-truth-art-is-a-lie-that-makes-us-realize/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [You see these thick curtains shut out the daylight: artificial light suits me a great deal better; it's absolutely steady, and much more exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/you-see-these-thick-curtains-shut-out-the-daylight-artificial-light/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The best calculation is the absence of calculation. Once you have attained a certain level of recognition, others generally figure that when you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-best-calculation-is-the-absence-of-calculation-once-you-have/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Action is the foundational key to all success. --Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/action-is-the-foundational-key-to-all-success-pablo-picasso/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The earth doesn't have a housekeeper to do the dusting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-earth-doesn-t-have-a-housekeeper-to-do-the-dusting/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/god-is-really-only-another-artist-he-invented-the-giraffe-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/a-baby-will-make-love-stronger-days-shorter-nights-longer-bankroll/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Explore all 477 Pablo Picasso quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## 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 an instrument in the war against the enemy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pablo Picasso" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-is-an-instrument-in-the-war-against-the-enemy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-is-an-instrument-in-the-war-against-the-enemy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/pablo-picasso-552_art_art-is-an-instrument-in-the-war-against_2646738.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/pablo-picasso-552_art_art-is-an-instrument-in-the-war-against_2646738.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/pablo-picasso-552_art_art-is-an-instrument-in-the-war-against_2646738.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is an instrument in the war against the enemy.” — Pablo Picasso", "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": "Pablo Picasso", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is an instrument in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-is-an-instrument-in-the-war-against-the-enemy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-is-an-instrument-in-the-war-against-the-enemy/#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 } } ] } ```