--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like people, a picture has a skeleton…" description: "\"Like people, a picture has a skeleton, muscles and skin.\" — Paul Klee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/paul-klee-4253_humanity_like-people-a-picture-has-a-skeleton-mus_581797.jpg" --- # Like people, a picture has a skeleton, muscles and skin. ![“Like people, a picture has a skeleton, muscles and skin.” quote by Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/paul-klee-4253_humanity_like-people-a-picture-has-a-skeleton-mus_581797.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/paul-klee-4253_humanity_like-people-a-picture-has-a-skeleton-mus_581797.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/paul-klee-4253_humanity_like-people-a-picture-has-a-skeleton-mus_581797.jpg) > “Like people, a picture has a skeleton, muscles and skin.” [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A picture, like a human, needs underlying structure, form, and surface detail to convey meaning. **In simple terms:** Images need structure, form, and surface. Key Takeaway Focus on building strong foundations in visual work. Themes art visual composition structure Mood thoughtful creative analytical Type descriptive inspirational When to use this quote - graphic design - illustration - portrait painting - concept art - animation Key Concepts anatomy of art layering depth balance Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure each layer adds purpose? - What supports give your work depth? A Different Perspective A picture without structure can feel flat and meaningless. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture/) [Skeletons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skeletons/) ## Related quotes > [Botox, trust me I've been tempted - but I resist! Think about what happens to your muscles - and your skin - if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salma-hayek/botox-trust-me-i-ve-been-tempted-but-i-resist-think-about-what-2/) [Salma Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salma-hayek/) > [Botox, trust me I've been tempted - but I resist! Think about what happens to your muscles - and your skin - if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salma-hayek/botox-trust-me-i-ve-been-tempted-but-i-resist-think-about-what/) [Salma Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salma-hayek/) > [She’s not… She’s not datin’ the skeleton, is she? How would that be even possible, let alone… nice? He’s got no skin, or lips,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/she-s-not-she-s-not-datin-the-skeleton-is-she-how-would-that-be-even/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [Drawing is the skeleton of what you do and color is its flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-poussin/drawing-is-the-skeleton-of-what-you-do-and-color-is-its-flesh/) [Nicolas Poussin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-poussin/) > [The Irish are people who will never have leaders, for at the great moment they always desert them. They have produced one skeleton--Parnell--never a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-irish-are-people-who-will-never-have-leaders-for-at-the-great/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [He raged for hours. And the skeleton, ever the frail and solelmn philosopher, hung quietly inside, saying not a word, suspended like a delicate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/he-raged-for-hours-and-the-skeleton-ever-the-frail-and-solelmn/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“One would think it would be most unwise in a man to be afraid of a skeleton, since Nature has set curious and quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/one-would-think-it-would-be-most-unwise-in-a-man-to-be-afraid-of-a/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [You can't improv off of bad writing. Then you have to actually create your objective, which is really hard to do in an element…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-coupe/you-can-t-improv-off-of-bad-writing-then-you-have-to-actually-create/) [Eliza Coupe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-coupe/) > [I love rewriting because that is where and how you discover the story. Its like you have this skeleton, and you get to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-love-rewriting-because-that-is-where-and-how-you-discover-the-story/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [The more work you put in on your outline and getting the skeleton of your story right, the easier the process is later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-goddard/the-more-work-you-put-in-on-your-outline-and-getting-the-skeleton-of/) [Drew Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-goddard/) > [Many women have asked me if it is possible to have a well-built wardrobe on a limited budget. 'Money,' I tell them, 'is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/many-women-have-asked-me-if-it-is-possible-to-have-a-well-built/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [The cat which isn't let out of the bag often becomes a skeleton in the cupboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-madan/the-cat-which-isn-t-let-out-of-the-bag-often-becomes-a-skeleton-in/) [Geoffrey Madan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-madan/) > [A weathered skeleton in windy fields of memory, piercing like a knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/a-weathered-skeleton-in-windy-fields-of-memory-piercing-like-a-knife/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [America forms the longest and straightest bone in the earth's skeleton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-huntington/america-forms-the-longest-and-straightest-bone-in-the-earth-s-skeleton/) [Ellsworth Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-huntington/) > [The dreams are the skeleton of all reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/the-dreams-are-the-skeleton-of-all-reality/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) ## More by Paul Klee > [Art makes something a lot more visible or audible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/art-makes-something-a-lot-more-visible-or-audible/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [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/) > [Children also have artistic ability, and there is wisdom in there having it! The more helpless they are, the more instructive are the examples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/children-also-have-artistic-ability-and-there-is-wisdom-in-there/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Color is the place where our brain and the universe meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/color-is-the-place-where-our-brain-and-the-universe-meet/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [See with one eye, feel with the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/see-with-one-eye-feel-with-the-other/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [“After all, it's rather difficult to achieve the exact minimum, and it involves risks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/after-all-it-s-rather-difficult-to-achieve-the-exact-minimum-and-it/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [The worst state of affairs is when science begins to concern itself with art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-worst-state-of-affairs-is-when-science-begins-to-concern-itself/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [What my art probably lacks is a kind of passionate humanity... There is no sensuous relationship, not even the noblest, between myself and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/what-my-art-probably-lacks-is-a-kind-of-passionate-humanity-there-is/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [The pictorial work was born of movement, is itself recorded movement, and is assimilated through movement (eye muscles).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-pictorial-work-was-born-of-movement-is-itself-recorded-movement/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Democracy with its semi-civilization sincerely cherishes junk. The artists power should be spiritual. But the power of the majority is material. When these worlds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/democracy-with-its-semi-civilization-sincerely-cherishes-junk-the/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [My hand is entirely the implement of a distant sphere. It is not my head that functions but something else, something higher, something somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/my-hand-is-entirely-the-implement-of-a-distant-sphere-it-is-not-my/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [I have a clear view of 12 years of history of my inner self. First the cramped self, that self with big blinkers, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/i-have-a-clear-view-of-12-years-of-history-of-my-inner-self-first-the/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [When looking at any significant work of art, remember that a more significant one probably has had to be sacrificed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/when-looking-at-any-significant-work-of-art-remember-that-a-more/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Colour has taken hold of me; no longer do I have to chase after it. I know that it has hold of me forever.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/colour-has-taken-hold-of-me-no-longer-do-i-have-to-chase-after-it-i/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) [Explore all 111 Paul Klee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) ## More Humanity quotes > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [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/) > [“Is it necessary to recall that the earth is not infinite, and that our civilization is close to having invaded all of it? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-tarde/is-it-necessary-to-recall-that-the-earth-is-not-infinite-and-that-our/) Gabriel Tarde > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Once the switch of parenthood is thrown, it changes you for ever & you can never escape the extra pull of humanity it gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hammond/once-the-switch-of-parenthood-is-thrown-it-changes-you-for-ever-you/) [Richard hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hammond/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [He is not humanity deified. He is not Godhead humanized. He is God. He is man. He is all that God is, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/he-is-not-humanity-deified-he-is-not-godhead-humanized-he-is-god-he/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-not-lose-faith-in-humanity-humanity-is-like-an-ocean-if-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 9,796 Humanity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Like people, a picture has a skeleton, muscles and skin.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Klee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/like-people-a-picture-has-a-skeleton-muscles-and-skin/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Humanity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/like-people-a-picture-has-a-skeleton-muscles-and-skin/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/paul-klee-4253_humanity_like-people-a-picture-has-a-skeleton-mus_581797.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/paul-klee-4253_humanity_like-people-a-picture-has-a-skeleton-mus_581797.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/paul-klee-4253_humanity_like-people-a-picture-has-a-skeleton-mus_581797.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Like people, a picture has a skeleton, muscles and skin.” — Paul Klee", "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 Klee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Like people, a picture has a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/like-people-a-picture-has-a-skeleton-muscles-and-skin/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/like-people-a-picture-has-a-skeleton-muscles-and-skin/#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 } } ] } ```