--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not what an artist does that…" description: "\"It is not what an artist does that counts...but what he is.\" — Pablo Picasso" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-is-not-what-an-artist-does-that-count_2188804.jpg" --- # It is not what an artist does that counts...but what he is. ![“It is not what an artist does that counts...but what he is.” quote by Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-is-not-what-an-artist-does-that-count_2188804.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-is-not-what-an-artist-does-that-count_2188804.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-is-not-what-an-artist-does-that-count_2188804.jpg) > “It is not what an artist does that counts...but what he is.” [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. What matters most is the artist's identity and perspective, not just their technique. **In simple terms:** The artist's being matters more than their work. Key Takeaway Focus on developing your inner self. Themes creativity identity art philosophy Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - artistic practice - self‑reflection - teaching art Key Concepts existentialism selfhood authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How does your personal identity shape your creations? - Can technique replace the artist’s inner vision? A Different Perspective Skill alone cannot convey true artistic value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-does-282627/) [Counts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counts/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/does/) [Does Counts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/does-counts-2208994/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [It's not what the artist does that counts; it's what he is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-s-not-what-the-artist-does-that-counts-it-s-what-he-is/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [What one does is what counts. Not what one had the intention of doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/what-one-does-is-what-counts-not-what-one-had-the-intention-of-doing/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [When you begin a picture you often make some pretty discoveries. You must be on guard against these. Destroy the thing, do it over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-you-begin-a-picture-you-often-make-some-pretty-discoveries-you/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [There's nothing wrong with pitch counts. But not when it's spit out by a computer, and the computer does not look at an individual's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-seaver/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-pitch-counts-but-not-when-it-s-spit-out-by/) [Tom Seaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-seaver/) > [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/) > [Only a bad artist thinks he has a good idea. A good artist does not need anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/only-a-bad-artist-thinks-he-has-a-good-idea-a-good-artist-does-not/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [If the artist does not fling himself, without reflecting, into his work, as Curtis flung himself into the yawning gulf, as the soldier flings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/if-the-artist-does-not-fling-himself-without-reflecting-into-his-work/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I'm rather kind of old school, thinking that when an artist does his work, it's no longer his... I just see what people make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-m-rather-kind-of-old-school-thinking-that-when-an-artist-does-his/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [In minority communities there's a sensitivity, often a knee-jerk reaction, to critical representations. There's a misunderstanding of what an artist does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/in-minority-communities-there-s-a-sensitivity-often-a-knee-jerk/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Art does not have to be dull, to be effective; the artist does not have to be a bore, to be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burton-raffel/art-does-not-have-to-be-dull-to-be-effective-the-artist-does-not-have/) [Burton Raffel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burton-raffel/) > [Art is what we call...the thing an artist does. It's not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/art-is-what-we-call-the-thing-an-artist-does-it-s-not-the-medium-or/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Art is the collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/art-is-the-collaboration-between-god-and-the-artist-and-the-less-the/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Everything that an artist does is a risk. Some people want you to stay the same. If you want to evolve, they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-estefan/everything-that-an-artist-does-is-a-risk-some-people-want-you-to-stay/) [Gloria Estefan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-estefan/) > [The only artist who does not deserve respect is the one who works to please the public, for commercial success or for official success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/the-only-artist-who-does-not-deserve-respect-is-the-one-who-works-to/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) ## 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": "It is not what an artist does that counts...but what he is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pablo Picasso" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-is-not-what-an-artist-does-that-counts-but-what-he-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-is-not-what-an-artist-does-that-counts-but-what-he-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-is-not-what-an-artist-does-that-count_2188804.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-is-not-what-an-artist-does-that-count_2188804.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-is-not-what-an-artist-does-that-count_2188804.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not what an artist does that counts...but what he is.” — 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": "It is not what an artist...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-is-not-what-an-artist-does-that-counts-but-what-he-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-is-not-what-an-artist-does-that-counts-but-what-he-is/#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 } } ] } ```