Everything passes, and what remains of former times, what remains of life, is the spiritual. In everything we do, the claim of the Absolute is unchanging.
Paul KleeRead
All art is a memory of age-old things, dark things, whose fragments live on in the artist.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art reflects deep, often dark aspects of the human experience and carries memories from the past.
In this quote, Paul Klee expresses the idea that all artistic creation is rooted in the memories of past experiences, particularly those that are complex or dark in nature. These memories are ingrained within the artist and inform their work, allowing fragments of these experiences to be transferred into their art, thus connecting the past with the present through creative expression.
Themes
ArtMemoryDarknessFragmentsCreation
In practice
Example use cases
During an art exhibition, an artist could use this quote to explain the inspiration behind their works.
More from Paul Klee
All quotes βThe painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen.
Paul KleeRead
To emphasize only the beautiful seems to me to be like a mathematical system that only concerns itself with positive numbers.
Paul KleeRead
You adapt yourself to the contents of the paintbox.
Paul KleeRead
It is a great difficulty and a great necessity to have to start with the smallest.
Paul KleeRead
The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the here and now.
Paul KleeRead
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