--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nature or, that which I see, inspires me…" description: "\"Nature or, that which I see, inspires me, puts me, as with any painter, in an emotional state so that an urge comes about to make something, but I want..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/piet-mondrian-14779_abstract_nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-p_188254.jpg" --- # Nature or, that which I see, inspires me, puts me, as with… ![“Nature or, that which I see, inspires me, puts me, as with any painter, in an emotional state so that an urge comes about to make something, but I want to come as close as possible to the truth and abstract everything from that, until I reach the foundation, still just an external foundation, of…” quote by Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/piet-mondrian-14779_abstract_nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-p_188254.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/piet-mondrian-14779_abstract_nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-p_188254.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/piet-mondrian-14779_abstract_nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-p_188254.jpg) > “Nature or, that which I see, inspires me, puts me, as with any painter, in an emotional state so that an urge comes about to make something, but I want to come as close as possible to the truth and abstract everything from that, until I reach the foundation, still just an external foundation, of things...” [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote expresses that observing nature drives the artist to seek truth, stripping away abstraction until only the essential external form remains. **In simple terms:** Nature inspires a quest for truth, removing all but the essential form. Key Takeaway Seek the essential truth in your work. Themes art perception truth abstraction process Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - painting - design - visual analysis - conceptual art Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy visual reductionism creative inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance truth with emotional expression? - What is the role of abstraction in understanding reality? A Different Perspective The pursuit may ignore internal emotional depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Foundation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foundation/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Inspire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspire/) [Inspires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspires/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Inspires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-inspires-458681/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painter Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter-emotional-1995491/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Urge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urge/) [Urge Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urge-comes-1995492/) [Urges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urges/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Nature inspires us. Not being able to reach out and touch it, or see it, makes me get really antsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/nature-inspires-us-not-being-able-to-reach-out-and-touch-it-or-see-it/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [Being out in nature inspires me as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/being-out-in-nature-inspires-me-as-a-writer/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [Nature inspires me because it's so peaceful. It makes me have an inward experience. It makes me reflective and nostalgic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-dennen/nature-inspires-me-because-it-s-so-peaceful-it-makes-me-have-an/) [Brett Dennen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-dennen/) > [Nature inspires me continually. Today, I can look out my window and see the entire world covered with snow. It's like Narnia under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora-goss/nature-inspires-me-continually-today-i-can-look-out-my-window-and-see/) [Theodora Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora-goss/) > [This is a beautiful time of year with spring beginning to burst forth in many parts of the world, bringing all of its colors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-russell-ballard/this-is-a-beautiful-time-of-year-with-spring-beginning-to-burst-forth/) [M. Russell Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-russell-ballard/) > [It is in vain to dream of a wildness distant from ourselves. There is none such. It is the bog in our brains and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-in-vain-to-dream-of-a-wildness-distant-from-ourselves-there-is/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [My heart is tuned to the quietness that the stillness of nature inspires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazrat-inayat-khan/my-heart-is-tuned-to-the-quietness-that-the-stillness-of-nature/) [Hazrat Inayat Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazrat-inayat-khan/) > [It is certainly no crime to depict the bizarre ideas that nature inspires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/it-is-certainly-no-crime-to-depict-the-bizarre-ideas-that-nature/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Nature; it always inspires me. Living in New York, it can get quite stressful sometimes, so on the weekends, I like to go hiking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valentina-zelyaeva/nature-it-always-inspires-me-living-in-new-york-it-can-get-quite/) [Valentina Zelyaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valentina-zelyaeva/) > [If I want to make a grime tune I'll go ahead and do it, but I don't really have the urge to right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-sovereign/if-i-want-to-make-a-grime-tune-i-ll-go-ahead-and-do-it-but-i-don-t/) [Lady Sovereign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-sovereign/) > [Men in general are too material and do not make enough human contacts. If we search for the fundamentals which actually motivate us we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-s-jordan/men-in-general-are-too-material-and-do-not-make-enough-human-contacts/) [Edward S. Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-s-jordan/) > [The urge to create, the urge to photograph, comes in part from the deep desire to live with more integrity, to live more in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynn-bullock/the-urge-to-create-the-urge-to-photograph-comes-in-part-from-the-deep/) [Wynn Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynn-bullock/) > [We live in an age of 'urge'. We do nothing till somebody shoves us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/we-live-in-an-age-of-urge-we-do-nothing-till-somebody-shoves-us/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [I'd always have a sort of automatic urge to share what I'm doing with other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-soloway/i-d-always-have-a-sort-of-automatic-urge-to-share-what-i-m-doing-with/) [Jill Soloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-soloway/) > [Having the urge to write is one thing; acting on it is another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-peter-clark/having-the-urge-to-write-is-one-thing-acting-on-it-is-another/) [Roy Peter Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-peter-clark/) ## More by Piet Mondrian > [To approach the spiritual in art, one will make as little use as possible of reality, because reality is opposed to the spiritual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/to-approach-the-spiritual-in-art-one-will-make-as-little-use-as/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [The more basic the color, the more inward, the more pure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/the-more-basic-the-color-the-more-inward-the-more-pure/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [The only problem in art is to achieve a balance between the subjective and the objective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/the-only-problem-in-art-is-to-achieve-a-balance-between-the/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [Evolution is always the work of pioneers, and their followers are always small in number. This following is not a clique; it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/evolution-is-always-the-work-of-pioneers-and-their-followers-are/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [ The essence of painting has actually always been to make it \[the universal\] plastically perceptible through colour and line. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/the-essence-of-painting-has-actually-always-been-to-make-it-the/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [I think you too recognize the important relationship between philosophy and art, and it is just this relationship that most painters deny. The great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/i-think-you-too-recognize-the-important-relationship-between/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [The truly modern artist is aware of abstraction in an emotion of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/the-truly-modern-artist-is-aware-of-abstraction-in-an-emotion-of/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [If you follow nature you will not be able to vanquish the tragic in any real degree in your art... We must free ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/if-you-follow-nature-you-will-not-be-able-to-vanquish-the-tragic-in/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [I don't want pictures, I want to find things out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/i-don-t-want-pictures-i-want-to-find-things-out/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [All painting - the painting of the past as well as of the present - shows us that its essential plastic means were only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/all-painting-the-painting-of-the-past-as-well-as-of-the-present-shows/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [Why should art continue to follow nature when every other field has left nature behind?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/why-should-art-continue-to-follow-nature-when-every-other-field-has/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [The only problem in art is to achieve a balance between subjective and objective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/the-only-problem-in-art-is-to-achieve-a-balance-between-subjective/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [Observing sea, sky and stars, I sought to indicate their plastic function through a multiplicity of crossing verticals and horizontals. Impressed by the vastness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/observing-sea-sky-and-stars-i-sought-to-indicate-their-plastic/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [It is a task of art to express clear vision of reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/it-is-a-task-of-art-to-express-clear-vision-of-reality/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [ Art on the contrary sought this harmony in practice \[of art itself\]. More and more in its creations it has given inwardness to that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/art-on-the-contrary-sought-this-harmony-in-practice-of-art-itself/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) [Explore all 45 Piet Mondrian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [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/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) [Anthony W. Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-w-ivins/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nature or, that which I see, inspires me, puts me, as with any painter, in an emotional state so that an urge comes about to make something, but I want to come as close as possible to the truth and abstract everything from that, until I reach the foundation, still just an external foundation, of things...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Piet Mondrian" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-puts-me-as-with-any-painter-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-puts-me-as-with-any-painter-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/piet-mondrian-14779_abstract_nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-p_188254.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/piet-mondrian-14779_abstract_nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-p_188254.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/piet-mondrian-14779_abstract_nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-p_188254.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nature or, that which I see, inspires me, puts me, as with any painter, in an emotional state so that an…” — Piet Mondrian", "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": "Piet Mondrian", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nature or, that which I see,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-puts-me-as-with-any-painter-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-puts-me-as-with-any-painter-in/#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 } } ] } ```