--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is to be done about these literary…" description: "\"What is to be done about these literary people, who will never understand that painting is a craft and that the material side comes first? The ideas co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/pierre-auguste-renoir-7064_artist_what-is-to-be-done-about-these-literary_2370337.png" --- # What is to be done about these literary people, who will… ![“What is to be done about these literary people, who will never understand that painting is a craft and that the material side comes first? The ideas come afterwards, when the picture is finished.” quote by Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/pierre-auguste-renoir-7064_artist_what-is-to-be-done-about-these-literary_2370337.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/pierre-auguste-renoir-7064_artist_what-is-to-be-done-about-these-literary_2370337.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/pierre-auguste-renoir-7064_artist_what-is-to-be-done-about-these-literary_2370337.png) > “What is to be done about these literary people, who will never understand that painting is a craft and that the material side comes first? The ideas come afterwards, when the picture is finished.” [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. Technical skill and material preparation precede artistic ideas; the craft must be mastered first. **In simple terms:** Master the medium before focusing on concepts. Key Takeaway Prioritize learning technique before conceptual work. Themes art craft process education Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical instructional When to use this quote - art school curricula - self‑study - studio practice - design workshops Key Concepts aesthetic theory skill acquisition creative hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - Should artists start with concept or material? - How does material mastery affect creative freedom? A Different Perspective Some argue ideas can inspire technique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Literary people are forever judging the quality of the mind by the turn of expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/literary-people-are-forever-judging-the-quality-of-the-mind-by-the/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [I guess I'm drawn to artists and literary people and want to learn about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-horan/i-guess-i-m-drawn-to-artists-and-literary-people-and-want-to-learn/) [Nancy Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-horan/) > [Real people are made out of a whole lot of things-flesh, bone, blood, nerves, stuff like that. Literary people are made out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster-2/real-people-are-made-out-of-a-whole-lot-of-things-flesh-bone-blood/) [Thomas C Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster-2/) > [“There is an impression abroad that literary folk are fast readers. Wine tasters are not heavy drinkers. Literary people read slowly because they sample…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/there-is-an-impression-abroad-that-literary-folk-are-fast-readers/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [“Huh! Mankind always comes up with ideas to make up for the follies of the status quo. But what happens if those ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/huh-mankind-always-comes-up-with-ideas-to-make-up-for-the-follies-of/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [If you understand a painting beforehand, you might as well not paint it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/if-you-understand-a-painting-beforehand-you-might-as-well-not-paint-it/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [My writing comes from ideas that make a sound in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/my-writing-comes-from-ideas-that-make-a-sound-in-my-heart/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [I just start writing, and in the process, one hopefully comes up with ideas and solutions and explores all the little nooks and crannies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/i-just-start-writing-and-in-the-process-one-hopefully-comes-up-with/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [I want technology to work for me, and my readers. People get confused that technology comes first. The ideas come first. You need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-bailey/i-want-technology-to-work-for-me-and-my-readers-people-get-confused/) [Glenda Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-bailey/) > [This is the funny thing about me. People think John just comes up with all the ideas. I'm honored. People think I have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/this-is-the-funny-thing-about-me-people-think-john-just-comes-up-with/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [Coming to understand a painting or a symphony in an unfamiliar style, to recognize the work of an artist or school, to see or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-goodman/coming-to-understand-a-painting-or-a-symphony-in-an-unfamiliar-style/) [Nelson Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-goodman/) > [The best way to understand a painting is by drawing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-best-way-to-understand-a-painting-is-by-drawing-it/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Most of my work comes from ideas. I can usually do only a few versions of each idea. Land Art and Body Art were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-oppenheim/most-of-my-work-comes-from-ideas-i-can-usually-do-only-a-few-versions/) [Dennis Oppenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-oppenheim/) > [Everyone wants to understand painting. Why is there no attempt to understand the song of the birds?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/everyone-wants-to-understand-painting-why-is-there-no-attempt-to/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Rock roll is not obscure, it's really easy to understand. So is my painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-slick/rock-roll-is-not-obscure-it-s-really-easy-to-understand-so-is-my/) [Grace Slick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-slick/) ## 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/) > [Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is no longer art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/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/) > [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/) [Explore all 95 Pierre-Auguste Renoir quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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 > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is to be done about these literary people, who will never understand that painting is a craft and that the material side comes first? 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