Grounded in the natural philosophy of the Middle Ages, alchemy formed a bridge: on the one hand into the past, to Gnosticism, and on the other into the future, to the modern psychology of the unconscious.
Carl JungRead
True art is creation, and creation is beyond all theories. That is why I say to any beginner: Learn your theories as well as you can, but put them aside when you touch the miracle of the living soul. Not theories but your own creative individuality alone must decide.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Creativity surpasses theoretical understanding, emphasizing the importance of personal expression in art.
Carl Jung's quote suggests that while understanding artistic theories is valuable, true creativity emerges from the individual's unique expression and connection to the essence of life. He encourages beginners to learn the rules but to ultimately rely on their personal creativity and intuition when creating art.
Themes
ArtCreationIndividualityCreativityTheories
In practice
Example use cases
In an art class, a teacher might quote this to inspire students to trust their own instincts.
More from Carl Jung
All quotes →The majority of my patients consisted not of believers but of those who had lost their faith.
Carl JungRead
Complexes are psychic contents which are outside the control of the conscious mind. They have been split off from consciousness and lead a separate existence in the unconscious, being at all times ready to hinder or to reinforce the conscious intentions.
Carl JungRead
We are in a far better position to observe instincts in animals or in primitives than in ourselves. This is due to the fact that we have grown accustomed to scrutinizing our own actions and to seeking rational explanations for them.
Carl JungRead
From the viewpoint of analytic psychology, the theatre, aside from any aesthetic value, may be considered as an institution for the treatment of the mass complex.
Carl JungRead
I have treated many hundreds of patients. Among those in the second half of life - that is to say, over 35 - there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life.
Carl JungRead
Similar quotes
For myself, I always write about Dublin, because if I can get to the heart of Dublin I can get to the heart of all the cities of the world. In the particular is contained the universal.
James JoyceRead
Composers in the old days used to keep strictly to the base of the theme, as their real subject. Beethoven varies the melody, harmony and rhythms so beautifully.
Johannes BrahmsRead
Or art thou but / A dagger of the mind, a false creation, / Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
William ShakespeareRead
I'm doing one of three things: I'm writing. I'm staring out the window. Or I'm writhing on the floor.
Thomas HarrisRead
Movement is expressive. I've never denied that. I don't think there's such a thing as abstract dance.
Merce CunninghamRead
Provided we can escape from the museums we carry around inside us, provided we can stop selling ourselves tickets to the galleries in our own skulls, we can begin to contemplate an art which re-creates the goal of the sorcerer: changing the structure of reality by the manipulation of living symbols ... Art tells gorgeous lies that come true.
Hakim BeyRead