--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And I think a painting has such a limited…" description: "\"And I think a painting has such a limited life anyway\" — Robert Rauschenberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/robert-rauschenberg-5257_life_and-i-think-a-painting-has-such-a-limite_1638408.jpg" --- # And I think a painting has such a limited life anyway ![“And I think a painting has such a limited life anyway” quote by Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/robert-rauschenberg-5257_life_and-i-think-a-painting-has-such-a-limite_1638408.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/robert-rauschenberg-5257_life_and-i-think-a-painting-has-such-a-limite_1638408.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/robert-rauschenberg-5257_life_and-i-think-a-painting-has-such-a-limite_1638408.jpg) > “And I think a painting has such a limited life anyway” [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art’s lifespan is brief, so its impact lies in fleeting moments rather than permanence. **In simple terms:** Art is temporary, valued for its brief existence. Key Takeaway Create meaning in the moment. Themes impermanence creativity legacy Mood contemplative philosophical Type artistic inspirational When to use this quote - gallery exhibition - public installation - artist statement Key Concepts art theory existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does knowing art is fleeting affect creation? - Can temporary works achieve lasting cultural impact? A Different Perspective Limited lifespan can diminish long‑term influence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Limited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limited/) [Limited Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limited-life-545559/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Limited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-limited-545560/) [Think Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-painting-280672/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Every choice is limited. That's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/every-choice-is-limited-that-s-life/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Even though at 17 it was limited, I had a life before Batman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-robinson/even-though-at-17-it-was-limited-i-had-a-life-before-batman/) [Jerry Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-robinson/) > [Every problem has a limited life span.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-schuller/every-problem-has-a-limited-life-span/) [Robert H. Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-schuller/) > [I think a painting is more like the real world if it's made out the real world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-think-a-painting-is-more-like-the-real-world-if-it-s-made-out-the/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I think I'm painting a picture of two women but it may turn out to be a landscape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-think-i-m-painting-a-picture-of-two-women-but-it-may-turn-out-to-be/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [If your thinking is limited, your life will be limited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/if-your-thinking-is-limited-your-life-will-be-limited/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Any company run by unknowing and mechanistic minds is in jeopardy and faces a limited life. Specifically, the pursuance of policies that focus on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cochrane/any-company-run-by-unknowing-and-mechanistic-minds-is-in-jeopardy-and/) [Peter Cochrane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cochrane/) > [“With our limited life spans, we mere mortals have to figure out what best to do with our time so that when it ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-w-hill/with-our-limited-life-spans-we-mere-mortals-have-to-figure-out-what/) [Joey W. Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-w-hill/) > [“sow your limited life now to reap the unlimited life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ojo-emmanuel-david/sow-your-limited-life-now-to-reap-the-unlimited-life/) [ojo emmanuel david](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ojo-emmanuel-david/) > [“An imperfect person living an imperfect, limited life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/an-imperfect-person-living-an-imperfect-limited-life/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“If your vision is limited your life is Limited' So open up those windows in your mind and live life to the fullest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/if-your-vision-is-limited-your-life-is-limited-so-open-up-those/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [I've diagnosed myself and discovered I have a limited 'life span' you can do this to. Then live life to its fullest in everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/i-ve-diagnosed-myself-and-discovered-i-have-a-limited-life-span-you/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [There is no reason not to consider the world as one gigantic painting,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/there-is-no-reason-not-to-consider-the-world-as-one-gigantic-painting/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I don't think I can do this - painting under observation. It's the worst thing there is, worse than being in the hospital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/i-don-t-think-i-can-do-this-painting-under-observation-it-s-the-worst/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [What makes you think painting is any less difficult than brain surgery?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-willard/what-makes-you-think-painting-is-any-less-difficult-than-brain-surgery/) [Christopher Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-willard/) ## More by Robert Rauschenberg > [Having to be different is the same trap as having to be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/having-to-be-different-is-the-same-trap-as-having-to-be-the-same/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [There is no reason not to consider the world as one gigantic painting,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/there-is-no-reason-not-to-consider-the-world-as-one-gigantic-painting/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I'm quite taken aback when I get something that appears to be technically a good photograph, because it's not necessarily my intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-m-quite-taken-aback-when-i-get-something-that-appears-to-be/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I was much happier when I had less responsibility... when my only responsibility was to my work and to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-was-much-happier-when-i-had-less-responsibility-when-my-only/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [It is neither Art for Art, nor Art against Art. I am for Art, but for Art that has nothing to do with Art.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/it-is-neither-art-for-art-nor-art-against-art-i-am-for-art-but-for/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [People ask me, 'Don't you ever run out of ideas?' In the first place I don't use ideas. Every time I have an idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/people-ask-me-don-t-you-ever-run-out-of-ideas-in-the-first-place-i/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [So that ideas of sort of relaxed symmetry have been something for years that I have been concerned with because I think that symmetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/so-that-ideas-of-sort-of-relaxed-symmetry-have-been-something-for/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I don't really trust ideas, especially good ones. Rather I put my trust in the materials that confront me, because they put me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-don-t-really-trust-ideas-especially-good-ones-rather-i-put-my-trust/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I refuse to be in this world by myself. I want an open commitment from the rest of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-refuse-to-be-in-this-world-by-myself-i-want-an-open-commitment-from/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [The only thing that I could get with chance, and I never was able to use it, was that I would end up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/the-only-thing-that-i-could-get-with-chance-and-i-never-was-able-to/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [This telegram is a work of art if I say it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/this-telegram-is-a-work-of-art-if-i-say-it-is/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [Understanding is a form of blindness. Good art, I think, can never be understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/understanding-is-a-form-of-blindness-good-art-i-think-can-never-be/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [Sometimes I have taken photographs and just felt so excited that I could barely hold the camera steady, and the photo was boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/sometimes-i-have-taken-photographs-and-just-felt-so-excited-that-i/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I am sick of talking about What and Why I am doing. I have always believed that the WORK is the word. Action is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-am-sick-of-talking-about-what-and-why-i-am-doing-i-have-always/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [And also the new excitement and variety of ways that the abstract expressionists were applying paint. You could put it on as though it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/and-also-the-new-excitement-and-variety-of-ways-that-the-abstract/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) [Explore all 102 Robert Rauschenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "And I think a painting has such a limited life anyway", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Rauschenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/and-i-think-a-painting-has-such-a-limited-life-anyway/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/and-i-think-a-painting-has-such-a-limited-life-anyway/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/robert-rauschenberg-5257_life_and-i-think-a-painting-has-such-a-limite_1638408.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/robert-rauschenberg-5257_life_and-i-think-a-painting-has-such-a-limite_1638408.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/robert-rauschenberg-5257_life_and-i-think-a-painting-has-such-a-limite_1638408.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And I think a painting has such a limited life anyway” — Robert Rauschenberg", "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": "Robert Rauschenberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And I think a painting has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/and-i-think-a-painting-has-such-a-limited-life-anyway/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/and-i-think-a-painting-has-such-a-limited-life-anyway/#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 } } ] } ```