---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason people are so moved by art and…"
description: "\"“The reason people are so moved by art and why artists tend to take it all so seriously is that if they are real and true they come to the painting wit..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d1/peter-heller-3324_art_the-reason-people-are-so-moved-by-art-an_2965546.png"
---

#  The reason people are so moved by art and why artists tend…

![“The reason people are so moved by art and why artists tend to take it all so seriously is that if they are real and true they come to the painting with everything they know and feel and live, and all the things they don't know, and some of the things they hope, and they are honest about them all…” quote by Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d1/peter-heller-3324_art_the-reason-people-are-so-moved-by-art-an_2965546.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d1/peter-heller-3324_art_the-reason-people-are-so-moved-by-art-an_2965546.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d1/peter-heller-3324_art_the-reason-people-are-so-moved-by-art-an_2965546.png)

> ““The reason people are so moved by art and why artists tend to take it all so seriously is that if they are real and true they come to the painting with everything they know and feel and live, and all the things they don't know, and some of the things they hope, and they are honest about them all and put them on the canvas. What can be more serious?””

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Artists pour all knowledge, emotion, and hopes into their work, making it a serious, honest expression.

**In simple terms:** Artists embed everything they know and feel into art.

Key Takeaway

Create art with total honesty.

Themes

art authenticity expression creativity

Mood

reflective inspirational

Type

philosophical creative

When to use this quote

- painting
- writing
- music composition

Key Concepts

honesty emotional depth human experience

Questions to Reflect On

- How does vulnerability affect artistic impact?
- Can honesty alienate audiences?

A Different Perspective

Art may be misinterpreted despite honesty.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists/) [Artwork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artwork/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/)

## Related quotes

> [As long as your intention is pure, and you know what you're in it for, then you're alright. And I'm in it because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-anastasio/as-long-as-your-intention-is-pure-and-you-know-what-you-re-in-it-for/)

[Trey Anastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-anastasio/)

> [Man is apt to be more moved by the art of his own period, not because it is more perfect, but because it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilya-ehrenburg/man-is-apt-to-be-more-moved-by-the-art-of-his-own-period-not-because/)

[Ilya Ehrenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilya-ehrenburg/)

> [When we are moved by art we are grateful that the artist lived, grateful that he labored in the service of his gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/when-we-are-moved-by-art-we-are-grateful-that-the-artist-lived/)

[Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/)

> [For years, I had heard about the lack of interest in literature in the U.S. and I had complained about it. I failed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/for-years-i-had-heard-about-the-lack-of-interest-in-literature-in-the/)

[Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/)

> [“But fans, including critics, of particular movements of artists, tend to want what they love to stay the same, the regression is not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grella-jr/but-fans-including-critics-of-particular-movements-of-artists-tend-to/)

George Grella Jr

> [You're only dealing with whatever you know, which is a very small part of it and later on it'll look like it has something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-judd/you-re-only-dealing-with-whatever-you-know-which-is-a-very-small-part/)

[Donald Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-judd/)

> [Audiences tend to dig the earlier stuff by any given musician, and the artists themselves always tend to prefer the thing that they're doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradford-cox/audiences-tend-to-dig-the-earlier-stuff-by-any-given-musician-and-the/)

[Bradford Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradford-cox/)

> [I'm trying not to go through that midlife dip that artists tend to have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-m-trying-not-to-go-through-that-midlife-dip-that-artists-tend-to/)

[Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/)

> [Artists tend to be beyond embarrassment the way little children tend to be beyond embarrassment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/artists-tend-to-be-beyond-embarrassment-the-way-little-children-tend/)

[Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/)

> [Artists tend to be people of strong character and opinion. Often they are dismissed in our culture if they don't fit a certain mainstream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greenwald/artists-tend-to-be-people-of-strong-character-and-opinion-often-they/)

[Robert Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greenwald/)

> [“Visual artists tend to like Tumblr, Instagram, or Facebook.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/visual-artists-tend-to-like-tumblr-instagram-or-facebook/)

[Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/)

> [I like artists that tend to be more interested in reinventing themselves, in experimenting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wilson/i-like-artists-that-tend-to-be-more-interested-in-reinventing/)

[Steven Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wilson/)

> [Artists tend to get this thing called demo-itis, and I'm extremely guilty of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-lennox/artists-tend-to-get-this-thing-called-demo-itis-and-i-m-extremely/)

[Ari Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-lennox/)

> [Coming from Britain, I was terrified of meeting all these other artists, because artists over there tend to fight with each other a lot,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/coming-from-britain-i-was-terrified-of-meeting-all-these-other/)

[Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/)

> [Art feeds off art...and artists feed off artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mangold/art-feeds-off-art-and-artists-feed-off-artists/)

Robert Mangold

## More by Peter Heller

> [“It occurred to me that the death of his grazing land hurt him more, incomparably more than the death of the human race. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/it-occurred-to-me-that-the-death-of-his-grazing-land-hurt-him-more/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [Kook means the clueless beginner who paddles his surf board out to the other surfers in the lineup and starts chattering away like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/kook-means-the-clueless-beginner-who-paddles-his-surf-board-out-to/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [“We have traveled. Now you will be the path I will walk I will walk Over you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/we-have-traveled-now-you-will-be-the-path-i-will-walk-i-will-walk/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [“Well, I think that’s sort of like Eve biting the apple. You were talking about Genesis. I think it’s like that, the crow is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/well-i-think-that-s-sort-of-like-eve-biting-the-apple-you-were/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [I like the drinking-out-of-the-fire-hose approach - you're getting way more than you can handle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-like-the-drinking-out-of-the-fire-hose-approach-you-re-getting-way/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [“Because that's what it turned into: in front of a fine painting a viewer stopped looking and started watching, watching is more specific, watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/because-that-s-what-it-turned-into-in-front-of-a-fine-painting-a/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [“The pleasure almost split me like a baking stuffed tomato. Like my heart swelled and my skin got thinner and thinner in the heat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/the-pleasure-almost-split-me-like-a-baking-stuffed-tomato-like-my/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [Wanted to write fiction since I was 11, since I first read 'In Our Time' by Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/wanted-to-write-fiction-since-i-was-11-since-i-first-read-in-our-time/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [“She collapsed. I stepped forward and caught her. I thought of two trees nearly unrooted and leaning against each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/she-collapsed-i-stepped-forward-and-caught-her-i-thought-of-two-trees/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [All my journalism, all my books are first person, and it's all memoir. Even when I'm writing about the oil spill in the Gulf,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/all-my-journalism-all-my-books-are-first-person-and-it-s-all-memoir/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [“we can proceed in our lives just as easily from love to love as from loss to loss. A good thing to remember in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/we-can-proceed-in-our-lives-just-as-easily-from-love-to-love-as-from/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [“It's early spring, some late or early hour with Orion toppling backward onto the serrated edge of the mountains and not crying out but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/it-s-early-spring-some-late-or-early-hour-with-orion-toppling/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [“I once had a book on the stars but now I don't. My memory serves but not stellar, ha. So I made up constellations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-once-had-a-book-on-the-stars-but-now-i-don-t-my-memory-serves-but/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [Species are going extinct because of habitat loss and warming. I feel deeply responsible and think about it every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/species-are-going-extinct-because-of-habitat-loss-and-warming-i-feel/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

> [“I think there should be tribunals for social cruelty as there are for physical assault. Calculated cuts in the first degree. Snobicide or its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-think-there-should-be-tribunals-for-social-cruelty-as-there-are-for/)

[Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

[Explore all 130 Peter Heller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/)

## 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

> [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": "“The reason people are so moved by art and why artists tend to take it all so seriously is that if they are real and true they come to the painting with everything they know and feel and live, and all the things they don't know, and some of the things they hope, and they are honest about them all and put them on the canvas. What can be more serious?”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Peter Heller"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/the-reason-people-are-so-moved-by-art-and-why-artists-tend-to-take-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/the-reason-people-are-so-moved-by-art-and-why-artists-tend-to-take-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d1/peter-heller-3324_art_the-reason-people-are-so-moved-by-art-an_2965546.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d1/peter-heller-3324_art_the-reason-people-are-so-moved-by-art-an_2965546.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d1/peter-heller-3324_art_the-reason-people-are-so-moved-by-art-an_2965546.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The reason people are so moved by art and why artists tend to take it all so seriously is that if they are…” — Peter Heller",
                "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": "Peter Heller",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“The reason people are so moved...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/the-reason-people-are-so-moved-by-art-and-why-artists-tend-to-take-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/the-reason-people-are-so-moved-by-art-and-why-artists-tend-to-take-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
