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
To give emphasis only to beauty makes me think of a mathematics that deals with positive numbers only.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that focusing solely on beauty is an incomplete understanding, akin to only considering positive numbers in mathematics.
Paul Klee's quote highlights the importance of a holistic view of art and aesthetics. He uses the analogy of mathematics, where limiting oneself to only positive numbers would yield a partial understanding of the subject. This implies that true appreciation of art involves recognizing complexity and depth, including elements that may not be conventionally beautiful or positive.
Themes
BeautyArtMathematicsComplexityUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about art, I might use this quote to emphasize the importance of seeing beyond surface beauty.
More from Paul Klee
All quotes →The painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen.
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To emphasize only the beautiful seems to me to be like a mathematical system that only concerns itself with positive numbers.
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You adapt yourself to the contents of the paintbox.
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It is a great difficulty and a great necessity to have to start with the smallest.
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All art is a memory of age-old things, dark things, whose fragments live on in the artist.
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