My whole life has been nothing more than a continuous struggle against Reaction and the death of art.
Pablo PicassoRead
When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form, a clear volume, through successive eliminations, you arrive inevitably at the egg. Likewise, starting with the egg and following the same process in reverse, one finishes with the portrait.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote illustrates the transformative power of artistic processes, revealing the connection between abstract forms and detailed representations.
Pablo Picasso's quote reflects on the artistic journey of creation, suggesting that whether one begins with a complex subject like a portrait or a simple form like an egg, the process of reduction or addition can affect how we perceive and create art. It emphasizes the notion that both simplicity and complexity are interconnected, and highlights the importance of understanding the fundamental elements in order to appreciate the final artwork.
Themes
ArtCreationTransformationPortraitEggProcess
In practice
Example use cases
In an art class, when discussing the creative process, this quote can be used to illustrate the evolution of an artwork.
More from Pablo Picasso
All quotes →Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.
Pablo PicassoRead
In drawing, nothing is better than the first attempt.
Pablo PicassoRead
He can who thinks he can, and he can't who thinks he can't. This is an inexorable, indisputable law.
Pablo PicassoRead
You have to have an idea of what you are going to do, but it should be a vague idea.
Pablo PicassoRead
I paint the way someone bites his fingernails; for me, painting is a bad habit because I don't know nor can I do anything else.
Pablo PicassoRead
Similar quotes
I don't think punk fashion is a specter or overemphasized - it made a big impression, as there had never been anything like it before.
Vivienne WestwoodRead
I don't start a novel until I have lived with the story for awhile to the point of actually writing an outline and after a number of books I've learned that the more time I spend on the outline the easier the book is to write. And if I cheat on the outline I get in trouble with the book.
John GrishamRead
As a kid, I used to dream about airplanes before I ever flew in one. I really knew, when I started photographing, I wanted it to be a way of knowing different cultures, not just in other countries but in this country, too, and I knew I wanted to enter other lives. I knew I wanted to be a voyeur.
Mary Ellen MarkRead
I never step upon a stage without asking myself whether I will succeed in finishing the opera. The fact is that a conscientious singer is never sure of himself or of anything. He is ever in the hands of Destiny.
Enrico CarusoRead
I think the best advice I give is to try not to write. Try not to overwrite, try not to make it sound too good. Just use your own voice. Use your own style of putting it down.
Elmore LeonardRead
It is the nature of the artist to mind excessively what is said about him. Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who have minded beyond reason the opinions of others.
Virginia WoolfRead