Pablo Picasso Quotes
Pablo Picasso left behind some of the most quoted lines in all of art, from every child is an artist to good artists copy, great artists steal. The catch is that one of his most famous quotes probably was not his at all.
He was a sharp, funny talker, and his best lines say as much about him as his paintings do.
Here are his real quotes, what they mean, and the one you should stop crediting to him.
His most famous lines
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.
Art is the lie that makes us realize the truth.
It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
I am always doing things I cannot do. That is how I get to do them.
Every child is an artist
This is the quote on a million classroom walls. Picasso meant it seriously.
He spent his last decades trying to unlearn his own training and paint with the freedom of a child, which is why he also said it took four years to paint like Raphael and a lifetime to paint like a child. For him, childhood was not the start of art. It was the goal.
Art is the lie that tells the truth
In a 1923 interview Picasso said that art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.
It is the clearest thing he ever said about his own work. A Cubist face is not what a face looks like, yet it can feel more true than a photograph. The distortion is the point, not a mistake. Why that idea made him a legend is here: why Picasso is famous.
The quote that is probably not his
The line everyone repeats, good artists copy, great artists steal, is almost certainly not Picasso's.
No one has ever found it in his writing or interviews. It floated around for years and got pinned on him later because it sounded like something he would say. Even the musician who helped make it famous admitted he was quoting a saying, not Picasso directly. It is a perfect example of how a catchy line attaches itself to the most famous name available.
Computers are useless
Asked about computers in 1968, Picasso reportedly shrugged that they were useless, because they can only give you answers.
For a man who lived on questions and restless reinvention, a machine that only answered held no interest. It is one of his lines that has only grown sharper with time.
FAQ about Picasso quotes
Did Picasso say every child is an artist? Yes, it is one of his genuine and most repeated lines.
Did he say good artists copy, great artists steal? Almost certainly not. There is no real source for it.
What did he say about children and art? That it took him a lifetime to learn to paint like a child.
What is his quote about lies? Art is the lie that makes us realize the truth.
Was he good with words? Yes, witty and sharp, as quotable as he was paintable.
The line he never said, and the one he meant most
The irony is hard to miss. Picasso's most shared quote, about copying and stealing, is one he probably never said.
The one he truly stood by is quieter: that art is a lie that helps us see what is true. That single sentence explains his whole career better than any biography. The rest of the man is in Pablo Picasso: The Complete Story, with more surprising facts about him.
There is a darker side to the man. Read How Picasso destroyed the six women who loved him