--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I firmly believe that a representational…" description: "\"I firmly believe that a representational painting is only as strong as its abstract components.\" — Robert Reynolds" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/robert-reynolds-40624_abstract_i-firmly-believe-that-a-representational_1320866.png" --- # I firmly believe that a representational painting is only… ![“I firmly believe that a representational painting is only as strong as its abstract components.” quote by Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/robert-reynolds-40624_abstract_i-firmly-believe-that-a-representational_1320866.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/robert-reynolds-40624_abstract_i-firmly-believe-that-a-representational_1320866.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/robert-reynolds-40624_abstract_i-firmly-believe-that-a-representational_1320866.png) > “I firmly believe that a representational painting is only as strong as its abstract components.” [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that a representational painting's power depends on its abstract elements. **In simple terms:** Abstract aspects give depth to realistic art. Key Takeaway Balance realism with abstraction for impact. Themes art abstraction representation Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - gallery exhibition - art education - studio practice - critique sessions Key Concepts visual composition color theory perception Questions to Reflect On - How do abstract components enhance a painting? - When does abstraction weaken representation? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on abstraction may obscure the subject. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Realism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism/) ## Related quotes > [I was struggling to figure out how to combine the abstract and the representational. 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An interpretational photograph goes one better and says, 'This is what Vienna was like.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duchemin/a-representational-photograph-says-this-is-what-vienna-looked-like-an/) [David duChemin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duchemin/) > [“Computation is fundamentally a representational medium, but as we attempt to expand the ways in which we interact with computation, we need to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dourish/computation-is-fundamentally-a-representational-medium-but-as-we/) [Paul Dourish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dourish/) > [I've never been a representational artist at all. Most artists have been representational. That's when you discover yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/i-ve-never-been-a-representational-artist-at-all-most-artists-have/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [My art is representational by choice…if the art of painting is to survive, it must describe and express people, their lives and times. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/my-art-is-representational-by-choice-if-the-art-of-painting-is-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [It became clear to me that I had to push it toward a more representational way of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sacco/it-became-clear-to-me-that-i-had-to-push-it-toward-a-more/) [Joe Sacco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sacco/) > [Representational painters: place your works in a larger context. Give your work not only breadth but breath. 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It is the manner in which one personally envisions and interprets the subject that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/subject-matter-does-not-determine-a-successful-painting-it-is-the/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Only the players truly understand the game of love. Because it hurts them worse then it hurts anyone who loves !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/only-the-players-truly-understand-the-game-of-love-because-it-hurts/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Things tend to drift away every time I come close to you but I still don't understand why I cant speak to you ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/things-tend-to-drift-away-every-time-i-come-close-to-you-but-i-still/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [“Why do all of the greatest strengths seem to originate as weaknesses? 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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 > [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": "I firmly believe that a representational painting is only as strong as its abstract components.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Reynolds" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/i-firmly-believe-that-a-representational-painting-is-only-as-strong/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/i-firmly-believe-that-a-representational-painting-is-only-as-strong/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/robert-reynolds-40624_abstract_i-firmly-believe-that-a-representational_1320866.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/robert-reynolds-40624_abstract_i-firmly-believe-that-a-representational_1320866.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/robert-reynolds-40624_abstract_i-firmly-believe-that-a-representational_1320866.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I firmly believe that a representational painting is only as strong as its abstract components.” — Robert Reynolds", "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 Reynolds", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I firmly believe that a representational...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/i-firmly-believe-that-a-representational-painting-is-only-as-strong/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/i-firmly-believe-that-a-representational-painting-is-only-as-strong/#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 } } ] } ```