My heart beats more for a raw, average vulgar art, which doesn't live between sleepy fairy-tale moods and poetry but rather concedes a direct entrance to the fearful, commonplace, splendid and the average grotesque banality in life.
Max BeckmannRead
I believe that the reason why I love painting so much is that it forces one to be objective. There is nothing I hate more than sentimentality.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the objectivity of painting as an antidote to emotional excess.
Max Beckmann expresses his deep appreciation for painting as it compels the artist to approach their work with a level of objectivity, distancing oneself from sentimental feelings. He contrasts this artistic discipline with his aversion to sentimentality, suggesting that true artistic expression should be grounded in clarity and authenticity rather than emotional overindulgence.
Themes
PaintingObjectivitySentimentalityEmotionArtistry
In practice
Example use cases
During an art lecture, to illustrate the importance of objectivity in artistic expression.
More from Max Beckmann
All quotes βI hardly need to abstract things, for each object is unreal enough already, so unreal that I can only make it real by means of painting.
Max BeckmannRead
I am seeking for the bridge which leans from the visible to the invisible through reality.
Max BeckmannRead
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