My whole life has been nothing more than a continuous struggle against Reaction and the death of art.
Pablo PicassoRead
Art is never chaste. It ought to be forbidden to ignorant innocents, never allowed into contact with those not sufficiently prepared. Yes, art is dangerous. Where it is chaste, it is not art.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art challenges and provokes thought, and it should be approached with the right understanding and readiness.
In this quote, Pablo Picasso expresses the idea that art is inherently complex and can be provocative or challenging. He argues that art should not be something that is kept pure or innocent; instead, it is meant to evoke strong emotions and reactions. Picasso suggests that those who engage with art should have the maturity and awareness to appreciate and understand its deeper meanings, as true art transcends surface appearances and delves into the profound aspects of human experience. Thus, art's value is often tied to its ability to confront, provoke, and challenge perceived norms and understandings.
Themes
ArtDangerProvocationUnderstandingMaturity
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about contemporary art, this quote could be used to discuss the role of provocative content in artistic expression.
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
Visual art and writing don't exist on an aesthetic hierarchy that positions one above the other, because each is capable of things the other can't do at all. Sometimes one picture is equal to 30 pages of discourse, just as there are things images are completely incapable of communicating.
William S. BurroughsRead
It sometimes takes a foreigner to come and see a place and paint it. I remember someone saying they had never really noticed the palm trees here until I painted them.
David HockneyRead
In film, it's very important to not allow yourself to get sentimental, which, being British, I try to avoid. People sometimes regard sentimentality as emotion. It is not. Sentimentality is unearned emotion.
Ridley ScottRead
An undevout poet is an impossibility.
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeRead
There comes a point at which you stop writing and think all the more
Gustave FlaubertRead
I had a handful of records, but when I was 11 years old, I liked Puccini as much as Little Richard. They both made sense to me.
Patti SmithRead