Art Is Not What You See, But What You Make Others See - Edgar Degas

Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. - Edgar Degas
—What lingers after this line?
Subjective Experience
This quote highlights the subjective nature of art. Art is not merely about an artist's personal vision but how effectively that vision is communicated and perceived by others.
Impact on Audience
It emphasizes the importance of the emotional and intellectual impact that art has on its audience. The value of art lies in evoking a response or insight from those who encounter it.
Interpretation and Meaning
Art invites interpretation and multiple layers of meaning. The quote suggests that artists succeed when they stimulate their audience to see beyond the surface and uncover deeper significances.
Interpersonal Connection
The quote underscores the connection between the artist and the viewer, where the true essence of the artwork is realized through shared perception and understanding.
Role of the Artist
It highlights the role of the artist as a communicator or storyteller who guides the viewer towards a particular vision or emotion, demonstrating the power of artistic expression.
Historical Context
Edgar Degas was a prominent French Impressionist artist known for his works in painting, sculpture, printmaking, and drawing during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His perspective on art reflects the period's emphasis on individual perception and innovation.
Recommended Reading
One-minute reflection
Where does this idea show up in your life right now?
Related Quotes
6 selectedThe best use of imagination is creativity. The worst use of imagination is anxiety. — Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra frames imagination as a neutral force whose value depends on its direction. In one sense, imagination is the mind’s simulator: it can invent possibilities that do not yet exist, letting us rehearse outcomes...
Read full interpretation →You were not just born to center your entire existence around work and labor. You were born to exist, to dance, to create, to be. — Tricia Hersey
Tricia Hersey
Tricia Hersey’s statement begins by breaking a common spell: the idea that a human life is primarily a productivity machine. By saying we were not born to center our existence on labor, she challenges the quiet assumptio...
Read full interpretation →There's a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. — Sophia Loren
Sophie Loren
Sophia Loren’s line immediately shifts the idea of youth away from biology and toward interior life. Instead of a hidden spring that reverses time, she points to capacities that can renew themselves: the mind, talent, an...
Read full interpretation →Sketch your days with daring strokes; intimacy with yourself paints freedom. — Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin frames daily living as an artistic act: to “sketch your days” suggests that life is not merely endured or recorded, but deliberately composed. The phrase “daring strokes” implies risk—choices made without waiti...
Read full interpretation →Create from the wound, not in spite of it, and your art will heal others. — Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran
Gibran’s line reframes suffering as a starting point rather than an obstacle. To “create from the wound” suggests that the raw material of art is not a polished life but an honest one—where loss, shame, grief, or longing...
Read full interpretation →Read the map inside your silence; then step where your ink points — Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison’s line begins by treating silence not as emptiness but as terrain—something with contours, landmarks, and hidden routes. To “read the map inside your silence” implies that beneath speech and performance the...
Read full interpretation →More From Author
More from Edgar Degas →