Who made art history? Not the most reasonable people. The mad men did. If painting is the mirror of a time, it must be mad to have a true image of what that time is. To one madness we oppose another madness.
Max ErnstRead
Painting is not for me either decorative amusement, or the plastic invention of felt reality; it must be every time: invention, discovery, revelation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Painting should transcend mere decoration and instead serve as a source of constant creativity and insight.
Max Ernst emphasizes that painting ought to be an ongoing process of invention and revelation rather than a superficial or strictly representational art form. His perspective indicates that true artistry lies in the ability to continuously discover new ideas and express them creatively, thus transforming the act of painting into a profound exploration of reality.
Themes
PaintingArtInventionDiscoveryRevelation
In practice
Example use cases
During an art workshop, you might say this quote to inspire participants to approach their creations with a mindset of exploration.
More from Max Ernst
All quotes βCreativity is that marvelous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition.
Max ErnstRead
Painting is neither decorative amusement, nor the plastic invention of felt reality; it must be every time: invention, discovery, revelation.
Max ErnstRead
When the artist finds himself he is lost. The fact that he has succeeded in never finding himself is regarded by Max Ernst as his only lasting achievement.
Max ErnstRead
Collage is the noble conquest of the irrational, the coupling of two realities, irreconcilable in appearance, upon a plane which apparently does not suit them.
Max ErnstRead
Every normal human being (and not merely the 'artist') has an inexhaustible store of buried images in his subconscious, it is merely a matter of courage or liberating procedures ... of voyages into the unconscious, to bring pure and unadulterated found objects to light.
Max ErnstRead
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