There is force and vitality in a first sketch from life which the after-work rarely has. You want a picture to seize you as forcibly as if a man had seized you by the shoulder! It should impress you like reality!
William Morris HuntRead
How are we going to make painters by lecturing to them? We are going to make questioners, doubters, and talkers. We are going to make painters by painting ourselves, and by showing the paintings of others. By working frankly from our convictions, we are going to make them work frankly from theirs.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True artistry comes from practice and personal conviction, not just from lectures.
William Morris Hunt emphasizes the idea that the best way to cultivate artistic talent is through active engagement and personal expression. Rather than merely instructing aspiring painters through lectures, he advocates for a hands-on approach that encourages inquiry, dialogue, and the direct experience of art, suggesting that real learning happens when individuals explore their own convictions and inspirations in painting.
Themes
ArtPaintingCreativityExpressionLearningExperience
In practice
Example use cases
In an art class, to inspire students to embrace their unique styles, the teacher quotes Hunt.
More from William Morris Hunt
All quotes →The mission of art is to represent nature not to imitate her.
William Morris HuntRead
Painting is the only universal language. All nature is creation's picture book. Painting alone can describe every thing which can be seen, and suggest every emotion which can be felt. Art reaches back into the babyhood of time, and is man's only lasting monument.
William Morris HuntRead
Art teaches you the philosophy of life, and if you can't learn it from art, you can't learn it at all. It shows you that there is no perfection. There is light, and there is shadow. Everything is in half tint.
William Morris HuntRead
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