Drawing is the artist's most direct and spontaneous expression, a species of writing: it reveals, better than does painting, his true personality.
Edgar DegasRead
It is all very well to copy what one sees, but it is far better to draw what one now only sees in one's memory. That is a transformation in which imagination collaborates with memory.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of imagination and memory in the creative process over mere imitation.
Edgar Degas highlights the distinction between simply replicating what one observes and the deeper creativity that arises when one combines imagination with memory. This transformation allows artists to produce unique interpretations, suggesting that true artistic expression comes from within rather than solely from external sources.
Themes
ArtImaginationMemoryCreativityTransformation
In practice
Example use cases
During an art class, this quote could inspire students to explore their unique perspectives.
More from Edgar Degas
All quotes →No art is less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and the study of the great masters.
Edgar DegasRead
Everyone has talent at twenty-five. The difficulty is to have it at fifty.
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The Dance instills in you something that sets you apart. Something heroic and remote.
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You have to have a high conception, not of what you are doing, but of what you may do one day: without that, there's no point in working.
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There is a kind of success that is indistinguishable from panic.
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