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
The painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A painter's role is to express vision rather than mere observation, capturing potential rather than reality.
Paul Klee emphasizes that a painter's true task lies not in replicating the physical world as it appears but in envisioning the deeper meanings and feelings that might be evoked through their work. This perspective encourages artists to see potential in their creativity, aiming to convey emotions and thoughts that transcend traditional representation.
Themes
ArtCreativityImaginationExpressionVision
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech at an art exhibition, one can highlight this quote to inspire aspiring artists.
More from Paul Klee
All quotes βTo 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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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.
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