---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When Earth's last picture is painted And…"
description: "\"“When Earth's last picture is painted And the tubes are twisted and dried When the oldest colors have faded And the youngest critic has died We shall r..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/rudyard-kipling-527_shall-praise_when-earth-s-last-picture-is-painted-and_535567.png"
---

#  When Earth's last picture is painted And the tubes are…

![“When Earth's last picture is painted And the tubes are twisted and dried When the oldest colors have faded And the youngest critic has died We shall rest, and faith, we shall need it Lie down for an aeon or two 'Till the Master of all good workmen Shall put us to work anew And those that were good…” quote by Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/rudyard-kipling-527_shall-praise_when-earth-s-last-picture-is-painted-and_535567.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/rudyard-kipling-527_shall-praise_when-earth-s-last-picture-is-painted-and_535567.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/rudyard-kipling-527_shall-praise_when-earth-s-last-picture-is-painted-and_535567.png)

> ““When Earth's last picture is painted And the tubes are twisted and dried When the oldest colors have faded And the youngest critic has died We shall rest, and faith, we shall need it Lie down for an aeon or two 'Till the Master of all good workmen Shall put us to work anew And those that were good shall be happy They'll sit in a golden chair They'll splash at a ten league canvas With brushes of comet's hair They'll find real saints to draw from Magdalene, Peter, and Paul They'll work for an age at a sitting And never be tired at all. And only the Master shall praise us. And only the Master shall blame. And no one will work for the money. No one will work for the fame. But each for the joy of the working, And each, in his separate star, Will draw the thing as he sees it. For the God of things as they are!””

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The poem envisions a future where creators work for joy, guided by a higher purpose, not for fame or money.

**In simple terms:** Work for joy, not reward, under divine inspiration.

Key Takeaway

Seek purpose-driven creation.

Themes

creativity purpose spirituality art legacy

Mood

hopeful inspired

Type

philosophical artistic

When to use this quote

- artist studio
- community project
- spiritual retreat
- educational workshop

Key Concepts

existentialism artistic fulfillment divine inspiration

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you balance joy and necessity?
- What structures support purpose-driven work?

A Different Perspective

Idealism may clash with practical constraints of livelihood.

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R.A Torrey

> [“All Your works shall praise You, O LORD , and Your saints shall bless You. – Psalm 145:10”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-morgan/all-your-works-shall-praise-you-o-lord-and-your-saints-shall-bless/)

[Robert J. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-morgan/)

> [What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/what-have-ye-not-houses-to-eat-and-to-drink-in-or-despise-ye-the/)

[Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/)

> [When we reach the hilltops of heaven, and look back upon all the way whereby the Lord our God hath led us, how shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/when-we-reach-the-hilltops-of-heaven-and-look-back-upon-all-the-way/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psalm-63-3/because-your-lovingkindness-is-better-than-life-my-lips-shall-praise/)

Psalm 63:3

> [“Awake, my heart, And do such deeds as in the time to come No tongue shall praise, but none refuse to tell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/awake-my-heart-and-do-such-deeds-as-in-the-time-to-come-no-tongue/)

[Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/)

> [Son, if a maiden love thee, thou shalt appear handsome in her sight; she shall praise thine eyes, and the corners of thy mouth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/son-if-a-maiden-love-thee-thou-shalt-appear-handsome-in-her-sight-she/)

[Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/)

> [How shall we praise the magnificence of the dead, The great man humbled, the haughty brought to dust?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/how-shall-we-praise-the-magnificence-of-the-dead-the-great-man/)

[Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/)

> [“Lament No permanence is ours; we are a wave That flows to fit whatever form it finds: Through day or night, cathedral or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/lament-no-permanence-is-ours-we-are-a-wave-that-flows-to-fit-whatever/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [The time will come when every change shall cease, This quick revolving wheel shall rest in peace: No summer then shall glow, not winter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/the-time-will-come-when-every-change-shall-cease-this-quick-revolving/)

[Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/)

## More by Rudyard Kipling

> [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [“I follow the Law—the Most Excellent Law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/i-follow-the-law-the-most-excellent-law/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [O it's Tommy this, and Tommy that, and Tommy 'ow's your soul/But it's thin red line of heroes when the drums begin to roll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/o-it-s-tommy-this-and-tommy-that-and-tommy-ow-s-your-soul-but-it-s/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [Believe the best of everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/believe-the-best-of-everybody/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees, So when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/oh-adam-was-a-gardener-and-god-who-made-him-sees-that-half-a-proper/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [Adam was a gardener, and God, who made him, sees that half of all good gardening is done upon the knees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/adam-was-a-gardener-and-god-who-made-him-sees-that-half-of-all-good/)

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[Explore all 491 Rudyard Kipling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

## More Shall Praise quotes

> [How shall we praise the magnificence of the dead, The great man humbled, the haughty brought to dust?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/how-shall-we-praise-the-magnificence-of-the-dead-the-great-man/)

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> [Son, if a maiden love thee, thou shalt appear handsome in her sight; she shall praise thine eyes, and the corners of thy mouth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/son-if-a-maiden-love-thee-thou-shalt-appear-handsome-in-her-sight-she/)

[Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/)

> [Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psalm-63-3/because-your-lovingkindness-is-better-than-life-my-lips-shall-praise/)

Psalm 63:3

> [When we reach the hilltops of heaven, and look back upon all the way whereby the Lord our God hath led us, how shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/when-we-reach-the-hilltops-of-heaven-and-look-back-upon-all-the-way/)

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[Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/)

> [“All Your works shall praise You, O LORD , and Your saints shall bless You. – Psalm 145:10”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-morgan/all-your-works-shall-praise-you-o-lord-and-your-saints-shall-bless/)

[Robert J. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-morgan/)

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[Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/)

Browse all 8 Shall Praise quotes

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