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
I put it [picture "A still life of a pear" by Edouard Manet] there [on the wall, next to the picture "Jupiter and Thetis" by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres], for a pear like that would overthrow any god.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Edgar Degas expresses how the beauty of Manet's artwork can rival even divine representations.
In this quote, Edgar Degas highlights the profound impact that art can have on perception and value. By placing a seemingly simple still life of a pear beside grand mythological works, he suggests that the beauty and mastery found in everyday subjects can be so compelling that they challenge the very ideals represented by classical themes, emphasizing the significance of art in redefining beauty and importance.
Themes
ArtBeautyStill LifePearExpressionDegasManet
In practice
Example use cases
In an art presentation highlighting the importance of still life, this quote by Degas can emphasize how everyday objects can hold deep significance.
More from Edgar Degas
All quotes βNo 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.
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.
Edgar DegasRead
The Dance instills in you something that sets you apart. Something heroic and remote.
Edgar DegasRead
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
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