--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This was my first encounter with art as…" description: "\"This was my first encounter with art as art (he saw 'Pinky' painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence and 'The Blue Boy\" painted by Thomas Gainborough).. ..somebo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_this-was-my-first-encounter-with-art-as_2959504.jpg" --- # This was my first encounter with art as art (he saw… ![“This was my first encounter with art as art (he saw 'Pinky' painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence and 'The Blue Boy" painted by Thomas Gainborough).. ..somebody actually MADE those paintings.. ..(it) was the first time I realized you could be an artist.” quote by Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_this-was-my-first-encounter-with-art-as_2959504.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_this-was-my-first-encounter-with-art-as_2959504.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_this-was-my-first-encounter-with-art-as_2959504.jpg) > “This was my first encounter with art as art (he saw 'Pinky' painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence and 'The Blue Boy" painted by Thomas Gainborough).. ..somebody actually MADE those paintings.. ..(it) was the first time I realized you could be an artist.” [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. Seeing master paintings revealed the possibility of becoming an artist. **In simple terms:** Realizing art can be created after witnessing masterpieces. Key Takeaway Let inspiration from great works spark creative ambition. Themes inspiration artistic identity learning Mood enthusiastic reflective Type educational motivational When to use this quote - art education - personal development - gallery visits Key Concepts Art history creative motivation Questions to Reflect On - How does exposure to masterworks shape self‑belief? - What steps turn inspiration into practice? A Different Perspective May set unrealistic standards based on masters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Encounters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounters/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [All still lifes are actually paintings of the world on the sixth day of creation, when God and the world were alone together, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/all-still-lifes-are-actually-paintings-of-the-world-on-the-sixth-day/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [I think folks who are resistant to engaging in art become less so once they encounter art that really reflects them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/i-think-folks-who-are-resistant-to-engaging-in-art-become-less-so/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [I realized what an artist is and what it is to be an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-polunin/i-realized-what-an-artist-is-and-what-it-is-to-be-an-artist/) [Sergei Polunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-polunin/) > [I feel like I'm a realized artist, but hey, the good news is I can get better, and I'm going to continue to aim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-crowell/i-feel-like-i-m-a-realized-artist-but-hey-the-good-news-is-i-can-get/) [Rodney Crowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-crowell/) > [I realized... that the artist is always alone. 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I realized what an artist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-polunin/when-i-worked-with-david-lachappelle-i-was-stimulated-he-was/) [Sergei Polunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-polunin/) > [We're able to influence younger generations on design and art. They might not have realized they were an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/we-re-able-to-influence-younger-generations-on-design-and-art-they/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [Acting is just another way to express myself as an artist. 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Without ignoring anything, it reacts wholeheartedly to everything it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soko-morinaga/the-truly-still-mind-with-which-you-were-born-is-the-mind-that-moves/) [Soko Morinaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soko-morinaga/) > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Gun control laws don't work. What is worse, they act perversely. While legitimate users of firearms encounter intense regulation, scrutiny and bureaucratic control, illicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-polsby/gun-control-laws-don-t-work-what-is-worse-they-act-perversely-while/) Daniel D. Polsby > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd ## 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 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. 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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. 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