--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you begin a picture you often make…" description: "\"When you begin a picture you often make some pretty discoveries. You must be on guard against these. Destroy the thing, do it over several times. In ea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/pablo-picasso-552_art_when-you-begin-a-picture-you-often-make_2417153.jpg" --- # When you begin a picture you often make some pretty… ![“When you begin a picture you often make some pretty discoveries. You must be on guard against these. Destroy the thing, do it over several times. In each destroying of a beautiful discovery, the artist does not really suppress it, but rather condenses it, makes it more substantial. What comes out…” quote by Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/pablo-picasso-552_art_when-you-begin-a-picture-you-often-make_2417153.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/pablo-picasso-552_art_when-you-begin-a-picture-you-often-make_2417153.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/pablo-picasso-552_art_when-you-begin-a-picture-you-often-make_2417153.jpg) > “When you begin a picture you often make some pretty discoveries. You must be on guard against these. Destroy the thing, do it over several times. In each destroying of a beautiful discovery, the artist does not really suppress it, but rather condenses it, makes it more substantial. What comes out in the end is the result of discarded finds. Otherwise you become your own connoisseur.” [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. The artist advises repeatedly destroying and reworking creations, turning discarded ideas into stronger work. **In simple terms:** Destroy and rebuild to improve art. Key Takeaway Embrace iteration and refinement. Themes creativity process resilience Mood thoughtful inspirational Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - sculpture - design projects - creative brainstorming Key Concepts artistic methodology innovation iteration Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance preservation and transformation? - When is it time to discard a concept? A Different Perspective Over‑editing can erase original inspiration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 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/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Connoisseur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connoisseur/) [Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/) [Destroying Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying-beautiful-3951233/) [Discarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discarded/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Discovery Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery-artist-1909942/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Finds Connoisseur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finds-connoisseur-6104607/) [Pretty Discoveries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretty-discoveries-6104608/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) ## Related quotes > [But those with an evil heart seem to have a talent for destroying anything beautiful which is about to bloom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-rylant/but-those-with-an-evil-heart-seem-to-have-a-talent-for-destroying/) [Cynthia Rylant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-rylant/) > [Science for me is very close to art. Scientific discovery is an irrational act. It's an intuition which turns out to be reality at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rubbia/science-for-me-is-very-close-to-art-scientific-discovery-is-an/) [Carlo Rubbia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rubbia/) > [It is not what an artist does that counts...but what he is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-is-not-what-an-artist-does-that-counts-but-what-he-is/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [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/) > [I hate that aesthetic game of the eye and the mind, played by these connoisseurs, these mandarins who "appreciate" beauty. What is beauty, anyway?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/i-hate-that-aesthetic-game-of-the-eye-and-the-mind-played-by-these/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The connoisseur of painting gives only bad advice to the painter. For that reason I have given up trying to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-connoisseur-of-painting-gives-only-bad-advice-to-the-painter-for/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [I who have been involved with all styles of painting can assure you that the only things that fluctuate are the waves of fashion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/i-who-have-been-involved-with-all-styles-of-painting-can-assure-you/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## 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": "When you begin a picture you often make some pretty discoveries. 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