--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had not then acquired the technique…" description: "\"“I had not then acquired the technique that I flatter myself now enables me to deal competently with the works of modern artist. If this were the place..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c14/w-somerset-maugham-237_art_i-had-not-then-acquired-the-technique-th_1280979.jpg" --- # I had not then acquired the technique that I flatter… ![“I had not then acquired the technique that I flatter myself now enables me to deal competently with the works of modern artist. If this were the place I could write a very neat little guide to enable the amateur of pictures to deal to the satisfaction of their painters with the most diverse…” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c14/w-somerset-maugham-237_art_i-had-not-then-acquired-the-technique-th_1280979.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c14/w-somerset-maugham-237_art_i-had-not-then-acquired-the-technique-th_1280979.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c14/w-somerset-maugham-237_art_i-had-not-then-acquired-the-technique-th_1280979.jpg) > ““I had not then acquired the technique that I flatter myself now enables me to deal competently with the works of modern artist. If this were the place I could write a very neat little guide to enable the amateur of pictures to deal to the satisfaction of their painters with the most diverse manifestations of the creative instinct. There is the intense ‘By God!’ that acknowledges the power of the ruthless realist, the ‘It’s so awfully sincere’ that covers your embarrassment when you are shown the coloured photograph of an alderman’s widow, the low whistle that exhibits your admiration for the post-impressionist, the ‘Terribly amusing’ that expresses what you feel about the cubist, the ‘Oh!’ of one who is overcome, the ‘Ah!’ of him whose breath is taken away.”” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on the difficulty of interpreting modern art and the varied emotional reactions it provokes. **In simple terms:** Modern art triggers many feelings that are hard to explain. Key Takeaway Learn to name and understand your reactions to art. Themes art appreciation interpretation emotion modernism Mood thoughtful curious Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - gallery visits - art classes - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts aesthetic judgment subjectivity cultural context Questions to Reflect On - How do you label your immediate feelings toward a painting? - Can you separate personal taste from broader artistic trends? A Different Perspective The guide may oversimplify complex personal responses. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Cubist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cubist-1104320/) [Cubist Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cubist-oh-4139808/) [Impressionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impressionist/) [Modern Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-artist-233784/) [Painters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painters/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Post Impressionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/post-impressionist-2378166/) ## Related quotes > [“Anyway, for whatever interest is to be derived therefrom. Bacon, Balthus, and Magritte are my three favourite painters, along with Dubuffet, of the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/anyway-for-whatever-interest-is-to-be-derived-therefrom-bacon-balthus/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [How many impressionist painters painted the same damned thing? How many actors have played the same part in renditions of a play or dancers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-provenza/how-many-impressionist-painters-painted-the-same-damned-thing-how/) [Paul Provenza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-provenza/) > [When Picasso paints as a cubist, putting one tone next to another, the arrangement of planes is fine and the results very storng. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristide-maillol/when-picasso-paints-as-a-cubist-putting-one-tone-next-to-another-the/) [Aristide Maillol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristide-maillol/) > [When we did Cubist paintings, our intention was not to produce Cubist paintings but to express what was within us. No one laid down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-we-did-cubist-paintings-our-intention-was-not-to-produce-cubist/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“Like the French frontier police who thought that some of Picasso’s Cubist drawings were plans of the country’s defenses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/like-the-french-frontier-police-who-thought-that-some-of-picasso-s/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [New York is the cubist, the futurist city. It expresses in its architecture, its life, its spirit, the modern thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-picabia/new-york-is-the-cubist-the-futurist-city-it-expresses-in-its/) [Francis Picabia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-picabia/) > [My cubist paintings are my most Mexican.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/my-cubist-paintings-are-my-most-mexican/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [“Manhattan was kaleidoscopic. Cubist. 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The Futurists declared that one had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gino-severini/in-the-early-days-the-cubism-method-of-grasping-an-object-was-to-go/) [Gino Severini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gino-severini/) > [The modern artist is living in a mechanical age and we have a mechanical means of representing objects in nature such as the camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-modern-artist-is-living-in-a-mechanical-age-and-we-have-a/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [The modern artist... is working and expressing an inner world - in other words - expressing the energy, the motion, and other inner forces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-modern-artist-is-working-and-expressing-an-inner-world-in-other/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. 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It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## 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. 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