--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not about painting life, it is…" description: "\"It is not about painting life, it is about making painting alive.\" — Paul Cezanne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/paul-cezanne-2525_alive_it-is-not-about-painting-life-it-is-abou_2914040.jpg" --- # It is not about painting life, it is about making painting… ![“It is not about painting life, it is about making painting alive.” quote by Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/paul-cezanne-2525_alive_it-is-not-about-painting-life-it-is-abou_2914040.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/paul-cezanne-2525_alive_it-is-not-about-painting-life-it-is-abou_2914040.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/paul-cezanne-2525_alive_it-is-not-about-painting-life-it-is-abou_2914040.jpg) > “It is not about painting life, it is about making painting alive.” [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. Art should not merely depict life but infuse it with vitality, making the work itself alive. **In simple terms:** Make art feel alive. Key Takeaway Create work that breathes. Themes art creativity life Mood inspirational thoughtful Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting workshops - gallery curation - art education - personal projects Key Concepts aesthetics ontology Questions to Reflect On - How do you give life to static subjects? - What makes a painting feel alive? A Different Perspective Balancing representation and vitality can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-making/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Making Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-painting-679435/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-alive-4065739/) [Painting Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-life-825918/) ## Related quotes > [No, the thing to do is try to make a painting that will be alive in your own lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/no-the-thing-to-do-is-try-to-make-a-painting-that-will-be-alive-in/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [With all its variety and liveliness, color acts in the work of art as blood does as it circulates through our bodies. Color is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-raffael/with-all-its-variety-and-liveliness-color-acts-in-the-work-of-art-as/) [Joseph Raffael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-raffael/) > [The investigation of making is illuminating towards that moment rather than the other way around, a reversal of the way that I would approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/the-investigation-of-making-is-illuminating-towards-that-moment/) [Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/) > [The future turns out to be something that you make instead of find. It isn't waiting for your arrival, either with an arrest warrant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/the-future-turns-out-to-be-something-that-you-make-instead-of-find-it/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [When I'm painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It's only after a get acquainted period that I see what I've been about.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/when-i-m-painting-i-m-not-aware-of-what-i-m-doing-it-s-only-after-a/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [When making a painting, only one thing counts: what you do next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/when-making-a-painting-only-one-thing-counts-what-you-do-next/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [Making a painting is like playing the saxophone. You hit the note and it comes out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/making-a-painting-is-like-playing-the-saxophone-you-hit-the-note-and/) [Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/) > [I don't try to force-feed it or put any things on the images until I'm making a painting. It's not photorealism. Photorealism's goal is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-loeb/i-don-t-try-to-force-feed-it-or-put-any-things-on-the-images-until-i/) [Damian Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-loeb/) > [I'm not so facile that I can accomplish or find out what I want to know or explore enough of the possibilities and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-m-not-so-facile-that-i-can-accomplish-or-find-out-what-i-want-to/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I'm compelled to paint nearly every day. I just felt like making a painting, went out and bought paints and a canvas. Now it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-johansen/i-m-compelled-to-paint-nearly-every-day-i-just-felt-like-making-a/) [David Johansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-johansen/) > [In the bedroom darkness I may visualise a way of making a painting. I can see it - if I do this and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-olitski/in-the-bedroom-darkness-i-may-visualise-a-way-of-making-a-painting-i/) [Jules Olitski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-olitski/) > [“You’ve got to live right, too. It’s the way you live that predisposes you to avoid the traps and see the right facts. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/you-ve-got-to-live-right-too-it-s-the-way-you-live-that-predisposes/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Making a painting is like having sex for a month or something. Then I go through this period of elation at finishing the work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-zuck/making-a-painting-is-like-having-sex-for-a-month-or-something-then-i/) [Tim Zuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-zuck/) > [I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/i-have-no-fear-of-making-changes-destroying-the-image-etc-because-the/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [“Your choices, your words, and every move you make are permanent. Life is lived in indelible ink, boy. Wake up. You’re making little bitty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-andrews/your-choices-your-words-and-every-move-you-make-are-permanent-life-is/) [Andy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-andrews/) ## 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 Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not about painting life, it is about making painting alive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Cezanne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/it-is-not-about-painting-life-it-is-about-making-painting-alive/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/it-is-not-about-painting-life-it-is-about-making-painting-alive/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/paul-cezanne-2525_alive_it-is-not-about-painting-life-it-is-abou_2914040.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/paul-cezanne-2525_alive_it-is-not-about-painting-life-it-is-abou_2914040.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/paul-cezanne-2525_alive_it-is-not-about-painting-life-it-is-abou_2914040.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not about painting life, it is about making painting alive.” — Paul Cezanne", "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": "Paul Cezanne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is not about painting life,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/it-is-not-about-painting-life-it-is-about-making-painting-alive/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/it-is-not-about-painting-life-it-is-about-making-painting-alive/#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 } } ] } ```