--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is about emotion; if art needs to be…" description: "\"Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is no longer art.\" — Pierre-Auguste Renoir" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/pierre-auguste-renoir-7064_art_art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be_623841.png" --- # Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is… ![“Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is no longer art.” quote by Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/pierre-auguste-renoir-7064_art_art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be_623841.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/pierre-auguste-renoir-7064_art_art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be_623841.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/pierre-auguste-renoir-7064_art_art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be_623841.png) > “Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is no longer art.” [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that art's power lies in feeling, not explanation. **In simple terms:** Art is felt, not explained. Key Takeaway Focus on emotional impact. Themes art emotion expression Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery curation - art education - creative practice Key Concepts aesthetic theory subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How does explaining art change its impact? - Can art be both explained and felt? A Different Perspective Over‑analysis can diminish experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) ## Related quotes > [Art is not emotion. Art is the medium in which emotion is expressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/art-is-not-emotion-art-is-the-medium-in-which-emotion-is-expressed/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [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/) > [Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and there is no longer art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/art-is-the-accomplice-of-love-take-love-away-and-there-is-no-longer/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [When Art becomes a Science it is no longer an Art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-art-becomes-a-science-it-is-no-longer-an-art/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Perhaps there may come into my art also, no less than into my life, a still deeper note, one of greater unity of passion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/perhaps-there-may-come-into-my-art-also-no-less-than-into-my-life-a/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“All art is immoral… For emotion for the sake of emotion is the aim of art, and emotion for the sake of action is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yosay-briels/all-art-is-immoral-for-emotion-for-the-sake-of-emotion-is-the-aim-of/) Yosay Briels > [Whereas life separates meaning from emotion, art unites them. Story is an instrument by which you create such epiphanies at will, the phenomenon known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/whereas-life-separates-meaning-from-emotion-art-unites-them-story-is/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [“Me: "All right, but you said we had to put emotion into our art. I don't know what that means. I don't know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/me-all-right-but-you-said-we-had-to-put-emotion-into-our-art-i-don-t/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [In my sculpture, it's not an image I am seeking, it's not an idea. My goal is to re-live a past emotion. My art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/in-my-sculpture-it-s-not-an-image-i-am-seeking-it-s-not-an-idea-my/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Nature is a mere pretext for a decorative composition, plus sentiment. It suggests emotion, and I translate that emotion into art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/nature-is-a-mere-pretext-for-a-decorative-composition-plus-sentiment/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [Aesthetic emotion puts man in a state favorable to the reception of erotic emotion. Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/aesthetic-emotion-puts-man-in-a-state-favorable-to-the-reception-of/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [Art without emotion is like chocolate cake without sugar, it makes you gag.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/art-without-emotion-is-like-chocolate-cake-without-sugar-it-makes-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Writing creates something new: an “art emotion,” i.e., an image of emotion, an illusion of emotion, which exists only in the context of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rami-shapiro/writing-creates-something-new-an-art-emotion-i-e-an-image-of-emotion/) Rami Shapiro > [Fashion is another way of expressing emotion and art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruel/fashion-is-another-way-of-expressing-emotion-and-art/) Ruel > [“The emotion of art is impersonal. And the poet cannot reach this impersonality without surrendering himself wholly to the work to be done. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-3/the-emotion-of-art-is-impersonal-and-the-poet-cannot-reach-this/) [T S Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-3/) ## More by Pierre-Auguste Renoir > [I would never have taken up painting if women did not have breasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/i-would-never-have-taken-up-painting-if-women-did-not-have-breasts/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/to-my-mind-a-picture-should-be-something-pleasant-cheerful-and-pretty/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [There are two indices of genuine art: it is inimitable and it is ineffable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/there-are-two-indices-of-genuine-art-it-is-inimitable-and-it-is/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [I have no rules and no methods... no secrets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/i-have-no-rules-and-no-methods-no-secrets/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [A fat lot of good it would do if I told you that Titian's courtesans make you want to caress them. Some day you'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/a-fat-lot-of-good-it-would-do-if-i-told-you-that-titian-s-courtesans/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [Regularity, order, desire for perfection destroy art. Irregularity is the basis of all art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/regularity-order-desire-for-perfection-destroy-art-irregularity-is/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [There are quite enough unpleasant things in life without the need to manufacture more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/there-are-quite-enough-unpleasant-things-in-life-without-the-need-to/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [The only reward one should offer an artist is to buy his work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/the-only-reward-one-should-offer-an-artist-is-to-buy-his-work/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [How is it that in the so-called barbarian ages art was understood, whereas in our age of progress exactly the opposite is true?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/how-is-it-that-in-the-so-called-barbarian-ages-art-was-understood/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [Be a good craftsman; it won't stop you from being a genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/be-a-good-craftsman-it-won-t-stop-you-from-being-a-genius/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [White does not exist in nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/white-does-not-exist-in-nature/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [I have a horror of the word 'flesh', which has become so shopworn.Why not 'meat'whilethey're about it? What I like is skin, a young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/i-have-a-horror-of-the-word-flesh-which-has-become-so-shopworn-why/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [I just keep painting till I feel like pinching. Then I know it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/i-just-keep-painting-till-i-feel-like-pinching-then-i-know-it-s-right/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [I arrange my subject as I want it, then I go ahead and paint it, like a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/i-arrange-my-subject-as-i-want-it-then-i-go-ahead-and-paint-it-like-a/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [My concern has always been to paint nudes as if they were some splendid fruit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/my-concern-has-always-been-to-paint-nudes-as-if-they-were-some/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) [Explore all 95 Pierre-Auguste Renoir quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) ## 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": "Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is no longer art.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pierre-Auguste Renoir" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be-explained-it-is-no-longer-art/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be-explained-it-is-no-longer-art/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/pierre-auguste-renoir-7064_art_art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be_623841.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/pierre-auguste-renoir-7064_art_art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be_623841.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/pierre-auguste-renoir-7064_art_art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be_623841.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is no longer art.” — Pierre-Auguste Renoir", "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": "Pierre-Auguste Renoir", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is about emotion; if art...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be-explained-it-is-no-longer-art/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be-explained-it-is-no-longer-art/#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 } } ] } ```