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
No art is less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and the study of the great masters.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Degas emphasizes the importance of thoughtful craftsmanship in art, rather than mere spontaneity.
In this quote, Edgar Degas reflects on his artistic process, asserting that his works are not born out of spontaneous inspiration but rather through careful reflection and an in-depth study of the great masters before him. This highlights the idea that great artistry requires dedication, critique, and an understanding of established techniques, suggesting that art is as much about learning and discipline as it is about instinct and emotion.
Themes
ArtReflectionMastersCraftsmanshipTechnique
In practice
Example use cases
A critique session where students analyze their artistic influences.
More from Edgar Degas
All quotes βEveryone has talent at twenty-five. The difficulty is to have it at fifty.
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.
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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.
Edgar DegasRead
There is a kind of success that is indistinguishable from panic.
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