--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no abstract art. You must always…" description: "\"There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.\" — Pablo Picasso" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/pablo-picasso-552_abstract_there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always_1716873.jpg" --- # There is no abstract art. You must always start with… ![“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.” quote by Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/pablo-picasso-552_abstract_there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always_1716873.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/pablo-picasso-552_abstract_there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always_1716873.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/pablo-picasso-552_abstract_there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always_1716873.jpg) > “There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.” [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. Abstract art requires a concrete starting point; realism can be stripped away later. **In simple terms:** Start with something real, then abstract. Key Takeaway Begin with a tangible base before abstraction. Themes creativity art process Mood reflective analytical Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - sculpture - design - conceptual art Key Concepts abstraction deconstruction visual perception Questions to Reflect On - How does starting concrete affect abstraction? - What is lost when reality is removed? A Different Perspective Removing reality may lose emotional resonance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-art/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-start-974309/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Start Afterward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-afterward-1298808/) [Traces Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traces-reality-1054273/) ## Related quotes > [“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality. —Pablo Picasso”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-b-burger/there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always-start-with-something/) [Edward B. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-b-burger/) > [Art is useful. Through art we can start building a world that works differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-bruguera/art-is-useful-through-art-we-can-start-building-a-world-that-works/) [Tania Bruguera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-bruguera/) > [I'd say, if you want to be an artist, start with your art; start with making great music and it will, hopefully, eventually cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-latifah/i-d-say-if-you-want-to-be-an-artist-start-with-your-art-start-with/) [Queen Latifah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-latifah/) > [Any authentic work of art must start an argument between the artist and his audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/any-authentic-work-of-art-must-start-an-argument-between-the-artist/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [The only and one way to say what abstract art or art-as-art is, is to say what it is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-only-and-one-way-to-say-what-abstract-art-or-art-as-art-is-is-to/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Among those born into chaos, some will imagine an order and become scientists; a few will recognize the chaos and become abstract artists; most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/among-those-born-into-chaos-some-will-imagine-an-order-and-become/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Abstract art places a new world, which on the surface has nothing to do with 'reality,' next to the 'real' world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/abstract-art-places-a-new-world-which-on-the-surface-has-nothing-to/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [Abstract art is a fundamental distrust of the theory of reality concocted by the eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/abstract-art-is-a-fundamental-distrust-of-the-theory-of-reality/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The only thing I collect is art. I collect it because I like looking at it. A lot of it is really personal stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/the-only-thing-i-collect-is-art-i-collect-it-because-i-like-looking/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [I shall never forget what I saw at the Museum of Modern Art: in a spotless schoolroom, fifty little girls painting away at tables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-shall-never-forget-what-i-saw-at-the-museum-of-modern-art-in-a/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [We are not talking about a new cognition in relation to abstract art, rather a new area of cognition...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/we-are-not-talking-about-a-new-cognition-in-relation-to-abstract-art/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [Abstract means literally to draw from or separate. In this sense every artist is abstract for he must create his own work from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/abstract-means-literally-to-draw-from-or-separate-in-this-sense-every/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot physically see with his eyes... Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arshile-gorky/abstraction-allows-man-to-see-with-his-mind-what-he-cannot-physically/) [Arshile Gorky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arshile-gorky/) > [In abstract mathematics or abstract art, the purpose is to describe inner states of our mind, and to explore the limits of our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjan-sundaram/in-abstract-mathematics-or-abstract-art-the-purpose-is-to-describe/) [Anjan Sundaram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjan-sundaram/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) ## 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 Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) [Anthony W. Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-w-ivins/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pablo Picasso" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always-start-with-something-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always-start-with-something-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/pablo-picasso-552_abstract_there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always_1716873.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/pablo-picasso-552_abstract_there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always_1716873.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/pablo-picasso-552_abstract_there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always_1716873.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of…” — 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": "There is no abstract art. You...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always-start-with-something-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always-start-with-something-2/#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 } } ] } ```