--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A good painting should be the equivalent…" description: "\"A good painting should be the equivalent of a good deed.\" — Vincent Van Gogh" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/vincent-van-gogh-486_artist_a-good-painting-should-be-the-equivalent_643523.jpg" --- # A good painting should be the equivalent of a good deed. ![“A good painting should be the equivalent of a good deed.” quote by Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/vincent-van-gogh-486_artist_a-good-painting-should-be-the-equivalent_643523.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/vincent-van-gogh-486_artist_a-good-painting-should-be-the-equivalent_643523.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/vincent-van-gogh-486_artist_a-good-painting-should-be-the-equivalent_643523.jpg) > “A good painting should be the equivalent of a good deed.” [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should embody moral goodness, matching the virtue of a good deed. **In simple terms:** Good art equals good deeds. Key Takeaway Create art that does good. Themes art ethics beauty Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - gallery curation - public murals - charitable projects Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy moral impact Questions to Reflect On - Can art change behavior? - What deeds inspire your art? A Different Perspective Art may be praised for skill, not virtue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds/) [Good deed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-deed/) [Good deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-deeds/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [A good picture is equivalent to a good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/a-good-picture-is-equivalent-to-a-good-deed/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“Good people sometimes have bad days. But, as they add up, rejoice; because, then you multiply the sum by tenfold and you have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toshbosh/good-people-sometimes-have-bad-days-but-as-they-add-up-rejoice/) ToshBosh > [As small as it may seem, a good deed is always worth the doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spark-matsunaga/as-small-as-it-may-seem-a-good-deed-is-always-worth-the-doing/) Spark Matsunaga > [“The effect of a single good deed could last for centuries, like planting a sapling of a long-living tree or writing a book that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noora-ahmed-alsuwaidi/the-effect-of-a-single-good-deed-could-last-for-centuries-like/) Noora Ahmed Alsuwaidi > [A candle throws its light into the darkness, in a nasty world so shines a good deed. Make sure the fortune that you seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-harper/a-candle-throws-its-light-into-the-darkness-in-a-nasty-world-so/) [Ben Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-harper/) > [A good deed is the best prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/a-good-deed-is-the-best-prayer/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The memory of a good deed lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-memory-of-a-good-deed-lives/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Even a smile is a good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-arison/even-a-smile-is-a-good-deed/) [Shari Arison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-arison/) > [A good deed, "said the prophet Mohammed, "is one that brings a smile of joy to the face of another." Why will doing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/a-good-deed-said-the-prophet-mohammed-is-one-that-brings-a-smile-of/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [But the good deed, through the ages Living in historic pages, Brighter grows and gleams immortal, Unconsumed by moth or rust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/but-the-good-deed-through-the-ages-living-in-historic-pages-brighter/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [ \[In politics\] no good deed goes unpunished ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/in-politics-no-good-deed-goes-unpunished/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) > [The good deed you do today, for a brother or sister in need will come back to you some day, for humanity's a circle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-alan-aurthur/the-good-deed-you-do-today-for-a-brother-or-sister-in-need-will-come/) [Robert Alan Aurthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-alan-aurthur/) > [Do not think little of any good deed, even if it is just greeting your brother with a smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-think-little-of-any-good-deed-even-if-it-is-just-greeting-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Reward will follow every good deed. Only by doing good deeds can a man know the true joy of living and have a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/reward-will-follow-every-good-deed-only-by-doing-good-deeds-can-a-man/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Steal a chicken if you get a chance, Huck, because if you don't want it, someone else does and a good deed ain't never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/steal-a-chicken-if-you-get-a-chance-huck-because-if-you-don-t-want-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Vincent Van Gogh > [What am I in most people's eyes? A nonentity or an eccentric and disagreeable man... I should want my work to show what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/what-am-i-in-most-people-s-eyes-a-nonentity-or-an-eccentric-and/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/the-heart-of-man-is-very-much-like-the-sea-it-has-its-storms-it-has/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“I take great care of myself by carefully shutting myself away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-take-great-care-of-myself-by-carefully-shutting-myself-away/) [Vincent van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [There certainly is an affinity between a person and his work, but it is not easy to define what this affinity is, and on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/there-certainly-is-an-affinity-between-a-person-and-his-work-but-it/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [I confess I do not know why, but looking at the stars always makes me dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-confess-i-do-not-know-why-but-looking-at-the-stars-always-makes-me/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Ah, Manet has come very, very close to it and Courbet - the marrying of form and colour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/ah-manet-has-come-very-very-close-to-it-and-courbet-the-marrying-of/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [We must not judge God from this world. It's just a study that didn't come off. It's only a master who could make such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/we-must-not-judge-god-from-this-world-it-s-just-a-study-that-didn-t/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/our-goals-can-only-be-reached-through-a-vehicle-of-a-plan-in-which-we/) [Vincent van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [One can never study nature too much and too hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/one-can-never-study-nature-too-much-and-too-hard/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [But by fighting the difficulties in which one finds oneself, an inner strength develops from within our heart, which improves in life's fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/but-by-fighting-the-difficulties-in-which-one-finds-oneself-an-inner/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Ah! My dear friend painting is to us what the music of Berlioz and Wagner was before us - a consolatory art for sore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/ah-my-dear-friend-painting-is-to-us-what-the-music-of-berlioz-and/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Painting demands an intelligent model.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/painting-demands-an-intelligent-model/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [That this awareness of my own fallibility will prevent me from making many mistakes doesn't alter the fact that I'm bound to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/that-this-awareness-of-my-own-fallibility-will-prevent-me-from-making/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [What is drawing? It is working oneself through an invisible iron wall that seems to stand between what one feels and what one can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/what-is-drawing-it-is-working-oneself-through-an-invisible-iron-wall/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [You will say that everyone has seen landscapes and figures from childhood on. The question is: Has everybody also been reflexive as a child?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/you-will-say-that-everyone-has-seen-landscapes-and-figures-from/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) [Explore all 508 Vincent Van Gogh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) ## 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 > [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": "A good painting should be the equivalent of a good deed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vincent Van Gogh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/a-good-painting-should-be-the-equivalent-of-a-good-deed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/a-good-painting-should-be-the-equivalent-of-a-good-deed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/vincent-van-gogh-486_artist_a-good-painting-should-be-the-equivalent_643523.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/vincent-van-gogh-486_artist_a-good-painting-should-be-the-equivalent_643523.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/vincent-van-gogh-486_artist_a-good-painting-should-be-the-equivalent_643523.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A good painting should be the equivalent of a good deed.” — Vincent Van Gogh", "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": "Vincent Van Gogh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A good painting should be the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/a-good-painting-should-be-the-equivalent-of-a-good-deed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/a-good-painting-should-be-the-equivalent-of-a-good-deed/#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 } } ] } ```