--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wished to copy nature. I could not. But…" description: "\"I wished to copy nature. I could not. But I was satisfied when I discovered the sun, for instance, could not be reproduced, but only represented by som..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/501/paul-cezanne-2525_copies_i-wished-to-copy-nature-i-could-not-but_2385584.jpg" --- # I wished to copy nature. I could not. But I was satisfied… ![“I wished to copy nature. I could not. But I was satisfied when I discovered the sun, for instance, could not be reproduced, but only represented by something else.” quote by Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/501/paul-cezanne-2525_copies_i-wished-to-copy-nature-i-could-not-but_2385584.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/501/paul-cezanne-2525_copies_i-wished-to-copy-nature-i-could-not-but_2385584.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/501/paul-cezanne-2525_copies_i-wished-to-copy-nature-i-could-not-but_2385584.jpg) > “I wished to copy nature. I could not. But I was satisfied when I discovered the sun, for instance, could not be reproduced, but only represented by something else.” [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting to copy nature fails; instead, representing it symbolically can be satisfying. **In simple terms:** Copying nature fails; symbolize instead. Key Takeaway Embrace symbolic representation. Themes artistic limitation representation creativity interpretation Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - design - teaching art Key Concepts aesthetic theory symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does symbolism change perception? - When is literal representation necessary? A Different Perspective Symbolic art may lose realism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) ## Related quotes > [Light is a thing that cannot be reproduced, but must be represented by something else - by color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/light-is-a-thing-that-cannot-be-reproduced-but-must-be-represented-by/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [The idea is not to copy nature, but to give a feeling of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-oudolf/the-idea-is-not-to-copy-nature-but-to-give-a-feeling-of-nature/) Piet Oudolf > [Photography, when used as a representational art, is not a mere copy of nature. This is proved by the rarity of the 'good' photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/photography-when-used-as-a-representational-art-is-not-a-mere-copy-of/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [One advantage of the discovery of the Photographic Art will be, that it will enable us to introduce into our pictures a multitude of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fox-talbot/one-advantage-of-the-discovery-of-the-photographic-art-will-be-that/) Henry Fox Talbot > [Science, like art, is not a copy of nature but a re-creation of her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/science-like-art-is-not-a-copy-of-nature-but-a-re-creation-of-her/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [“I'd discovered that the sun equated happiness. Its bright and lovely existence was hope incarnate. It exposed the dark, brought forth the light and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fisher-amelie/i-d-discovered-that-the-sun-equated-happiness-its-bright-and-lovely-2/) [Fisher Amelie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fisher-amelie/) > [“I'd discovered that the sun equated happiness. Its bright and lovely existence was hope incarnate. It exposed the dark, brought forth the light and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fisher-amelie/i-d-discovered-that-the-sun-equated-happiness-its-bright-and-lovely/) [Fisher Amelie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fisher-amelie/) > [“publication can be reproduced or transmitted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-march/publication-can-be-reproduced-or-transmitted/) [Emily March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-march/) > [The counterfeit and counterpart of Nature is reproduced in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-counterfeit-and-counterpart-of-nature-is-reproduced-in-art/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“Time should be reproduced and multiplied”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/time-should-be-reproduced-and-multiplied/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Let everything be allowed to do what it naturally does, so that its nature will be satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/let-everything-be-allowed-to-do-what-it-naturally-does-so-that-its/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Nature is satisfied with little; and if she is, I am also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/nature-is-satisfied-with-little-and-if-she-is-i-am-also/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [Nature was not satisfied by a simple point charge but required a charge with spin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sin-itiro-tomonaga/nature-was-not-satisfied-by-a-simple-point-charge-but-required-a/) Sin-Itiro Tomonaga > [“He heard the sound of waves striking the shore, and it was as though the surging of his young blood was keeping time with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/he-heard-the-sound-of-waves-striking-the-shore-and-it-was-as-though/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [Copy nature and you infringe on the work of our Lord. Interpret nature and you are an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lipchitz/copy-nature-and-you-infringe-on-the-work-of-our-lord-interpret-nature/) [Jacques Lipchitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lipchitz/) ## More by Paul Cezanne > [An art which isn't based on feeling isn't an art at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/an-art-which-isn-t-based-on-feeling-isn-t-an-art-at-all/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [I am still searching for the expression of those confused sensations that we bring with us at birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/i-am-still-searching-for-the-expression-of-those-confused-sensations/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [You say a new era in art is preparing; you sensed it coming; continue your studies without weakening. God will do the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/you-say-a-new-era-in-art-is-preparing-you-sensed-it-coming-continue/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [A thousand painters ought to be killed yearly. Say what you like: I'm every inch a painter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/a-thousand-painters-ought-to-be-killed-yearly-say-what-you-like-i-m/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [Taste is the best judge. It is rare. Art only addresses itself to an excessively small number of individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/taste-is-the-best-judge-it-is-rare-art-only-addresses-itself-to-an/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [You have to hurry up if you want to see something, everything disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/you-have-to-hurry-up-if-you-want-to-see-something-everything/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [Here on the edge of the river, the motifs are very plentiful, the same subject seen from a different angle gives a subject for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/here-on-the-edge-of-the-river-the-motifs-are-very-plentiful-the-same/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [With an apple I will astonish Paris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/with-an-apple-i-will-astonish-paris/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/a-work-of-art-which-did-not-begin-in-emotion-is-not-art/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [All the theories mess you up inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/all-the-theories-mess-you-up-inside/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [People think how a sugar basin has no physiognomy, no soul. But it changes every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/people-think-how-a-sugar-basin-has-no-physiognomy-no-soul-but-it/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/the-day-is-coming-when-a-single-carrot-freshly-observed-will-set-off/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [Shut your eyes, wait, think of nothing. Now, open them ... one sees nothing but a great coloured undulation. What then? An irradiation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/shut-your-eyes-wait-think-of-nothing-now-open-them-one-sees-nothing/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [Painting is founded on the heart controlled by the head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/painting-is-founded-on-the-heart-controlled-by-the-head/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [If I were called upon to define briefly the word Art, I should call it the reproduction of what the senses preceive in nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/if-i-were-called-upon-to-define-briefly-the-word-art-i-should-call-it/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) [Explore all 161 Paul Cezanne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) ## More Copies quotes > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My songs are like cheap Neil Young copies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-bachman/my-songs-are-like-cheap-neil-young-copies/) [Randy Bachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-bachman/) > [In that part of the book of my memory before the which is little that can be read, there is a rubric, saying, Incipit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/in-that-part-of-the-book-of-my-memory-before-the-which-is-little-that/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I remember being a kid and seeing the 'National Inquirer' at the grocery store checkout line. When somebody actually picked up a copy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-seeing-the-national-inquirer-at-the/) [Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/) > [The idea is not to copy nature, but to give a feeling of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-oudolf/the-idea-is-not-to-copy-nature-but-to-give-a-feeling-of-nature/) Piet Oudolf > [“When copies are free, you need to sell things that cannot be copied. Well, what can’t be copied? Trust, for instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/when-copies-are-free-you-need-to-sell-things-that-cannot-be-copied/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Mr Witwould: "Pray, madam, do you pin up your hair with all your letters? I find I must keep copies." Mrs Millamant: "Only with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/mr-witwould-pray-madam-do-you-pin-up-your-hair-with-all-your-letters/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [There have to be at least two copies of a photograph, otherwise it’s not a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ruff/there-have-to-be-at-least-two-copies-of-a-photograph-otherwise-it-s/) [Thomas Ruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ruff/) > [In market research I did at Microsoft Corp. in the early 1990s, I estimated that the 'Wall Street Journal' took in about 75 cents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/in-market-research-i-did-at-microsoft-corp-in-the-early-1990s-i/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Guys like Todd Bridges never overcame being a child star. You can't have any big failures. I've always felt regular. I played organized ball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/guys-like-todd-bridges-never-overcame-being-a-child-star-you-can-t/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) > [It was only after I had been out of the art school that I actually copied a small Seurat, and I copied it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/it-was-only-after-i-had-been-out-of-the-art-school-that-i-actually/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [We call ourselves creators and we just copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/we-call-ourselves-creators-and-we-just-copy/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [People have one of two extreme reactions to my book. They either throw it across the room, or they rush out and buy 10…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/people-have-one-of-two-extreme-reactions-to-my-book-they-either-throw/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [A presentation copy...is a copy of a book whoch does not sell, sent you by the author, with his foolish autograph at the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/a-presentation-copy-is-a-copy-of-a-book-whoch-does-not-sell-sent-you/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [We are all born originals, why is it so many of us die copies?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/we-are-all-born-originals-why-is-it-so-many-of-us-die-copies/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) Browse all 971 Copies quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wished to copy nature. I could not. 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