Everything passes, and what remains of former times, what remains of life, is the spiritual. In everything we do, the claim of the Absolute is unchanging.
Paul KleeRead
The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the here and now.
Interpretation
What this quote means
In challenging times, art tends to become more conceptual and abstract, while happier times inspire more immediate and realistic expressions in art.
Paul Klee's quote suggests that the state of the world influences artistic expression. During difficult and tumultuous periods, artists often turn to abstraction, reflecting complex emotions and societal struggles, whereas in happier and more stable times, art tends to focus on the tangible and immediate experiences of life. This relationship between art and the context of existence highlights how external circumstances can shape creativity and inspiration.
Themes
ArtAbstractionEmotionWorldExpression
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a lecture on the evolution of art during historic crises.
More from Paul Klee
All quotes βThe painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen.
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To emphasize only the beautiful seems to me to be like a mathematical system that only concerns itself with positive numbers.
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You adapt yourself to the contents of the paintbox.
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It is a great difficulty and a great necessity to have to start with the smallest.
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All art is a memory of age-old things, dark things, whose fragments live on in the artist.
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