--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The object, which is back of every true…" description: "\"The object, which is back of every true work of art, is the attainment of a state of being, a state of high functioning, a more than ordinary moment of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25f/robert-henri-1803_activity_the-object-which-is-back-of-every-true-w_2615063.png" --- # The object, which is back of every true work of art, is… ![“The object, which is back of every true work of art, is the attainment of a state of being, a state of high functioning, a more than ordinary moment of existence. In such moments activity is inevitable, and whether this activity is with brush, pen, chisel, or tongue, its result is but a by-product…” quote by Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25f/robert-henri-1803_activity_the-object-which-is-back-of-every-true-w_2615063.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25f/robert-henri-1803_activity_the-object-which-is-back-of-every-true-w_2615063.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25f/robert-henri-1803_activity_the-object-which-is-back-of-every-true-w_2615063.png) > “The object, which is back of every true work of art, is the attainment of a state of being, a state of high functioning, a more than ordinary moment of existence. In such moments activity is inevitable, and whether this activity is with brush, pen, chisel, or tongue, its result is but a by-product of the state, a trace, the footprint of the state.” [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artistic creation stems from a heightened mental state, where the work is a by‑product of that elevated consciousness. **In simple terms:** Great art comes from a high mental state, the art follows. Key Takeaway Cultivate a heightened state for creativity. Themes creativity mindset artistic process Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - painting - writing - performance - public speaking Key Concepts flow presence self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - How can you achieve such a mental state? - What activities help you reach high functioning? A Different Perspective The concept may be abstract for beginners. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Ordinary moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-moments/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [The opportunity for greater courage comes in the most ordinary of moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-anne-radmacher/the-opportunity-for-greater-courage-comes-in-the-most-ordinary-of/) [Mary Anne Radmacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-anne-radmacher/) > [How inevitable it is; we step into an ordinary moment and never come out again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/how-inevitable-it-is-we-step-into-an-ordinary-moment-and-never-come/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Twinkle lights are the perfect metaphor for joy. Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments—often ordinary moments. Sometimes we miss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/twinkle-lights-are-the-perfect-metaphor-for-joy-joy-is-not-a-constant/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [At its finest moments climbing allows me to step out of ordinary existence into something extraordinary, stripping me of my sense of self-importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-scott/at-its-finest-moments-climbing-allows-me-to-step-out-of-ordinary/) [Doug Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-scott/) > [“the people who matter in our lives stay with us, haunting our most ordinary moments. They’re with us in the grocery store, as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baker-kline/the-people-who-matter-in-our-lives-stay-with-us-haunting-our-most/) [Christina Baker Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baker-kline/) > [There are no ordinary moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/there-are-no-ordinary-moments/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [There have been many articles about the top regrets that people have when they're dying. They are always, "I missed the ordinary moments." We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/there-have-been-many-articles-about-the-top-regrets-that-people-have/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [A story has the opportunity to enlighten us, because as we connect the extraordinary moments on film with the ordinary moments of our lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/a-story-has-the-opportunity-to-enlighten-us-because-as-we-connect-the/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [One of the things that really fascinates me about movies is that they make seemingly ordinary moments be filled with some curiosity or some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joachim-trier/one-of-the-things-that-really-fascinates-me-about-movies-is-that-they/) [Joachim Trier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joachim-trier/) > [In language that's lyrical and haunting, Cheryl Strayed writes about bliss and loss, about the kind of grace that startles and transforms us in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-hegi/in-language-that-s-lyrical-and-haunting-cheryl-strayed-writes-about/) [Ursula Hegi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-hegi/) > [Do you believe in spirits? Or ghosts?...Yes, I do. I believe in ghosts…They're the ones who haunt us. The ones who have left us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baker-kline/do-you-believe-in-spirits-or-ghosts-yes-i-do-i-believe-in-ghosts-they/) [Christina Baker Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baker-kline/) > [“You know you love someone when he makes all the ordinary moments feel extraordinary. When doing absolutely nothing feels like everything. Gray assumed he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kacvinsky/you-know-you-love-someone-when-he-makes-all-the-ordinary-moments-feel/) [Katie Kacvinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kacvinsky/) > [Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments - often ordinary moments. Sometimes we miss out on the bursts of joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/joy-is-not-a-constant-it-comes-to-us-in-moments-often-ordinary/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“You have your own stories, the dramatic and more ordinary moments where what has gone wrong becomes an opening to more of yourself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-tippett/you-have-your-own-stories-the-dramatic-and-more-ordinary-moments/) [Krista Tippett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-tippett/) > [I couldn't remember ordinary moments, only the ones that had made an impression. Ordinary moments were the ones that fell away first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-couldn-t-remember-ordinary-moments-only-the-ones-that-had-made-an/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## More by Robert Henri > [It is the common defect of modern art study. Too many students do not know why they draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/it-is-the-common-defect-of-modern-art-study-too-many-students-do-not/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Your only hope of satisfying others is in satisfying yourself. I speak of a great satisfaction, not a commercial satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/your-only-hope-of-satisfying-others-is-in-satisfying-yourself-i-speak/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Keep a bad drawing until by study you have found out why it is bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/keep-a-bad-drawing-until-by-study-you-have-found-out-why-it-is-bad/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Self-education only produces expressions of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/self-education-only-produces-expressions-of-self/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Genius is not a possession of the limited few, but exists in some degree in everyone. Where there is natural growth, a full and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/genius-is-not-a-possession-of-the-limited-few-but-exists-in-some/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Your painting is the marking of your progression into nature, a sensation of something you see way beyond the two pretty colors over there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/your-painting-is-the-marking-of-your-progression-into-nature-a/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [The sketch hunter moves through life as he finds it, not passing negligently the things he loves, but stopping to know them, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/the-sketch-hunter-moves-through-life-as-he-finds-it-not-passing/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [There are pictures that manifest education and there are pictures that manifest love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/there-are-pictures-that-manifest-education-and-there-are-pictures/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [I am interested in the size of your intention. It is better to overstate the important than to understate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/i-am-interested-in-the-size-of-your-intention-it-is-better-to/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [“We will be happy if we can get around to the idea that art is not an outside and extra thing; that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/we-will-be-happy-if-we-can-get-around-to-the-idea-that-art-is-not-an/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [“It beats all the things that wealth can give and everything else in the world to say the things one believes, to put them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/it-beats-all-the-things-that-wealth-can-give-and-everything-else-in/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [“A GREAT PAINTER will know a great deal about how he did it, but still he will say, “How did I do it?” The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/a-great-painter-will-know-a-great-deal-about-how-he-did-it-but-still/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [“Concentrate on a single feature – as, build all toward one eye – make all lines lead toward that eye. (Robert Henri)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/concentrate-on-a-single-feature-as-build-all-toward-one-eye-make-all/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Good composition is like a suspension bridge - each line adds strength and takes none away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/good-composition-is-like-a-suspension-bridge-each-line-adds-strength/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Cherish your own emotions and never undervalue them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/cherish-your-own-emotions-and-never-undervalue-them/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) [Explore all 207 Robert Henri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The object, which is back of every true work of art, is the attainment of a state of being, a state of high functioning, a more than ordinary moment of existence. 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