--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those trying to explain pictures are as a…" description: "\"Those trying to explain pictures are as a rule completely mistaken.\" — Pablo Picasso" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/pablo-picasso-552_art_those-trying-to-explain-pictures-are-as_2957909.jpg" --- # Those trying to explain pictures are as a rule completely… ![“Those trying to explain pictures are as a rule completely mistaken.” quote by Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/pablo-picasso-552_art_those-trying-to-explain-pictures-are-as_2957909.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/pablo-picasso-552_art_those-trying-to-explain-pictures-are-as_2957909.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/pablo-picasso-552_art_those-trying-to-explain-pictures-are-as_2957909.jpg) > “Those trying to explain pictures are as a rule completely mistaken.” [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. Explaining images often fails because visual art resists verbal capture. **In simple terms:** Pictures are hard to describe accurately. Key Takeaway Accept visual ambiguity. Themes art interpretation communication perception Mood curious analytical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - gallery visits - art education - creative writing Key Concepts visual language semantic limits Questions to Reflect On - Why do we struggle to verbalize images? - When is description useful? A Different Perspective Words may oversimplify complex visuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Completely Mistaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/completely-mistaken-4490511/) [Explain Pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain-pictures-4214717/) [Mistaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistaken/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Pictures Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pictures-rule-3178809/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Trying Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-explain/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone wants to understand art. Why not try to understand the song of a bird? Why does one love the night, flowers, everything around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/everyone-wants-to-understand-art-why-not-try-to-understand-the-song-2/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Everyone wants to understand art. Why not try to understand the song of a bird? ...people who try to explain pictures are usually barking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/everyone-wants-to-understand-art-why-not-try-to-understand-the-song/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [I can paint pictures, but I cannot rule men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fra-angelico/i-can-paint-pictures-but-i-cannot-rule-men/) [Fra Angelico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fra-angelico/) > [Pictures rule, but words define, explain, express, direct, and hold together our thoughts and what we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-watson/pictures-rule-but-words-define-explain-express-direct-and-hold/) [Don Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-watson/) > [I wouldn’t expect you to get it, Daisy. You don’t look at anything besides Photoplay—and even then somebody’s gotta explain the pictures to you.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/i-wouldn-t-expect-you-to-get-it-daisy-you-don-t-look-at-anything/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [This superficial blurring has something to do with the incapacity I have just mentioned. I can make no statement about reality clearer than my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/this-superficial-blurring-has-something-to-do-with-the-incapacity-i/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [“Explaining evolution to a fundamentalist Christian is like trying to explain Calculus to someone with absolutely no grasp of Maths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-b-lockhart/explaining-evolution-to-a-fundamentalist-christian-is-like-trying-to/) [Peter B. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-b-lockhart/) > [“loathsome Upmans. He thought, ridiculously, that she owed him something. She began to babble, regardless of the fact that he couldn’t understand a word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/loathsome-upmans-he-thought-ridiculously-that-she-owed-him-something/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > [When I was first trying to explain to my parents that I was really a girl, my father didn't know what to do. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-maines/when-i-was-first-trying-to-explain-to-my-parents-that-i-was-really-a/) [Nicole Maines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-maines/) > [Myths are early science, the result of men's first trying to explain what they saw around them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/myths-are-early-science-the-result-of-men-s-first-trying-to-explain/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [At the time when I was going to school in Ireland people didn't really have a clue about what it was, so I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-boorman/at-the-time-when-i-was-going-to-school-in-ireland-people-didn-t/) [Charley Boorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-boorman/) > [You cant make other people understand what you are trying to explain if you dont understand it yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cant-make-other-people-understand-what-you-are-trying-to-explain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What was the point, I told myself, of trying to explain to people who would never understand? Frankness just stirred up trouble amoung women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-dalby/what-was-the-point-i-told-myself-of-trying-to-explain-to-people-who/) [Liza Dalby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-dalby/) > [To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who's never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-drayton/to-describe-the-agony-of-a-marathon-to-someone-who-s-never-run-it-is/) [Jerome Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-drayton/) > [I'm not the guy who will sit in a room with somebody who's using a bunch of big words and just act like I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/i-m-not-the-guy-who-will-sit-in-a-room-with-somebody-who-s-using-a/) [Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/) ## 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": "Those trying to explain pictures are as a rule completely mistaken.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pablo Picasso" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/those-trying-to-explain-pictures-are-as-a-rule-completely-mistaken/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/those-trying-to-explain-pictures-are-as-a-rule-completely-mistaken/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/pablo-picasso-552_art_those-trying-to-explain-pictures-are-as_2957909.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/pablo-picasso-552_art_those-trying-to-explain-pictures-are-as_2957909.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/pablo-picasso-552_art_those-trying-to-explain-pictures-are-as_2957909.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those trying to explain pictures are as a rule completely mistaken.” — 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": "Those trying to explain pictures are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/those-trying-to-explain-pictures-are-as-a-rule-completely-mistaken/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/those-trying-to-explain-pictures-are-as-a-rule-completely-mistaken/#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 } } ] } ```