--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Recognizing Pablo Picasso in a train…" description: "\"“Recognizing Pablo Picasso in a train compartment, a man inquired of the artist why he did not paint people “the way they really are.” Picasso asked wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0d/rosamund-stone-zander-274491_art_recognizing-pablo-picasso-in-a-train-com_101575.jpg" --- # Recognizing Pablo Picasso in a train compartment, a man… ![“Recognizing Pablo Picasso in a train compartment, a man inquired of the artist why he did not paint people “the way they really are.” Picasso asked what he meant by that expression. The man opened his wallet and took out a snapshot of his wife, saying, “That’s my wife.” Picasso responded, “Isn’t…” quote by Rosamund Stone Zander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0d/rosamund-stone-zander-274491_art_recognizing-pablo-picasso-in-a-train-com_101575.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0d/rosamund-stone-zander-274491_art_recognizing-pablo-picasso-in-a-train-com_101575.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0d/rosamund-stone-zander-274491_art_recognizing-pablo-picasso-in-a-train-com_101575.jpg) > ““Recognizing Pablo Picasso in a train compartment, a man inquired of the artist why he did not paint people “the way they really are.” Picasso asked what he meant by that expression. The man opened his wallet and took out a snapshot of his wife, saying, “That’s my wife.” Picasso responded, “Isn’t she rather small and flat?” 5”” [Rosamund Stone Zander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosamund-stone-zander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A conversation about artistic perception reveals how personal bias shapes how we view others, using a humorous anecdote. **In simple terms:** Personal bias colors artistic perception. Key Takeaway Recognize and question personal biases. Themes art perception bias humor Mood thoughtful lighthearted Type Art:1 Artist:1 Fitness:0 Marriage:0 Pablo Picasso:1 Really Picasso:0 Picasso Asked:0 Wife Picasso:0 Picasso Responded:0 When to use this quote - art critique - personal reflection - social interaction Key Concepts subjectivity interpretation relationships Questions to Reflect On - How does bias affect our interpretation of art? - Can humor reveal deeper truths about perception? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex artistic concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pablo-picasso/) [Picasso Asked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picasso-asked-1231081/) [Picasso Responded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picasso-responded-1231083/) [Really Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-picasso-740039/) [Wife Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife-picasso-1231082/) ## Related quotes > [Somebody was saying to Picasso that he ought to make pictures of things the way they are-objective pictures. He mumbled that he wasn't quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/somebody-was-saying-to-picasso-that-he-ought-to-make-pictures-of/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Once, Picasso was asked what his paintings meant. He said, “Do you ever know what the birds are singing? You don’t. But you listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/once-picasso-was-asked-what-his-paintings-meant-he-said-do-you-ever/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality. —Pablo Picasso”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-b-burger/there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always-start-with-something/) [Edward B. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-b-burger/) > [ \[Pablo\] Picasso was born in my hometown, in Málaga, so I have this of strange connection with his persona and with what he did.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-banderas/pablo-picasso-was-born-in-my-hometown-in-m-laga-so-i-have-this-of/) [Antonio Banderas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-banderas/) > [Pablo Picasso was generous. But he always signed and dedicated his gifts even when he knew that people would sell them because they needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-picasso/pablo-picasso-was-generous-but-he-always-signed-and-dedicated-his/) [Claude Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-picasso/) > [“Pablo Picasso rode on the crest of the Modern Art wave. Several”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-brody/pablo-picasso-rode-on-the-crest-of-the-modern-art-wave-several/) [Paul Brody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-brody/) > [The function of the artist is the mythologization of the culture and the world. In the visual arts there were two men whose work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-function-of-the-artist-is-the-mythologization-of-the-culture-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [ I read once that \[Pablo\] Picasso felt if an artist ever felt totally satisfied with a work she ceased to be an artist. With… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo/i-read-once-that-pablo-picasso-felt-if-an-artist-ever-felt-totally/) [Milo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo/) > [We are the two great painters of this era; you are in the Egyptian style, I in themodern style. (to Pablo Picasso)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-rousseau/we-are-the-two-great-painters-of-this-era-you-are-in-the-egyptian/) [Henri Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-rousseau/) > [Action is the foundational key to all success. --Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/action-is-the-foundational-key-to-all-success-pablo-picasso/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-richman/pablo-picasso-was-never-called-an-asshole/) [Jonathan Richman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-richman/) > [You couldn't forget Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Joan Miro either. And it had to be, you know, at least as good or better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/you-couldn-t-forget-pablo-picasso-henri-matisse-and-joan-miro-either/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [The fact that for a long time Cubism has not been understood and that even today there are people who cannot see anything in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-fact-that-for-a-long-time-cubism-has-not-been-understood-and-that/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“If there is some red spot on one of my paintings it is unlikely to be the heart of the work. The painting was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/volkmar-essers/if-there-is-some-red-spot-on-one-of-my-paintings-it-is-unlikely-to-be/) [Volkmar Essers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/volkmar-essers/) > [“Because life, as Pablo Picasso averred, 'is a very bad novel', it has to be reworked through the writers' suffering into something much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cirilo-f-bautista/because-life-as-pablo-picasso-averred-is-a-very-bad-novel-it-has-to/) [Cirilo F. Bautista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cirilo-f-bautista/) ## 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. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [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/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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 only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [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/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Recognizing Pablo Picasso in a train compartment, a man inquired of the artist why he did not paint people “the way they really are.” Picasso asked what he meant by that expression. 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