Pablo Picasso, the great 20th-century artist, not only left an incredible body of work but also a legacy of inspiring quotes. Pablo Picasso Quotes represent his distinct perspective on life and art, and they continue to inspire and motivate others today.
In this article, we will look at some of Picasso’s most famous quotes and what they tell about his concepts and beliefs. Picasso’s remarks provide unique insights into the creative process and the human experience, from his beliefs in the transformational power of art to his advice on taking risks.
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So, let’s explore some of the most memorable quotes of this artistic genius together!
Who is Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, and printmaker who is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century’s most significant artists.
Picasso is best known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for experimenting with a variety of styles over his lengthy career. “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” “Guernica,” and “The Old Guitarist” are among his most famous works.
Here are a few well-known facts about Pablo Picasso:
- Picasso experimented with several various styles over his long career, including Cubism, Surrealism, and Neoclassicism.
- Picasso’s personal life was characterized by tumultuous female relationships and tumultuous marriages. He was known for his larger-than-life personality and countless affairs.
- Picasso, despite his quirks, was a prolific artist who produced hundreds of pieces over the course of his lifetime. His legacy continues to have an impact on artists and art enthusiasts all around the world.
- Picasso was not only an artist but also a poet and dramatist. Over his life, he authored hundreds of poems and plays, many of which were inspired by personal events and relationships.
- In addition to his creative achievements, Picasso was a philanthropist who supported a range of causes throughout his life, including peace and human rights.
Inspiring Pablo Picasso Quotes to Live By
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.
Good artists copy; great artists steal.
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
Everything you can imagine is real.
It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.
I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
To copy others is necessary, but to copy oneself is pathetic.
Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth.
Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself, and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others. It leads to sterility.
The purpose of art is to wash the dust of daily life off our souls.
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth, at least the truth that is given to us to understand.
Are we to paint what’s on the face, what’s inside the face, or what’s behind it?
Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.
Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone
If I paint a wild horse, you might not see the horse… but surely you will see the wildness!
Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativity.
There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward, you can remove all traces of reality.
When I was a child my mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general. If you become a monk, you’ll be the pope.’ Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.
Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?
There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.
Painting is an essential function of human life. Wherever human beings live, painting has existed and exists. Painting is a language, as with words.
It takes a very long time to become young.
I paint objects as I think them not as I see them.
The more technique you have the less you have to worry about it. The more technique there is the less there is.
The chief enemy of creativity is good sense.
Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.
Colors, like features, follow the changes in emotions.
I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
When art critics get together they talk about Form Structure and Meaning. When artists get together they talk about where you can buy cheap turpentine.
Everyone wants to understand art. Why not try to understand the song of a bird? Why does one love the night, flowers, and everything around one, without trying to understand them?
Unless your work gives you trouble, it is no good.
We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth at least the truth that is given to us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.
The hidden harmony is better than the obvious.
The world doesn’t make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?
Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.
People want to find meaning in everything and everyone. That’s the disease of our age.
Love is the greatest refreshment in life.
There are only two types of women: goddesses and doormats.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
When you come right down to it all you have is yourself. The sun is a thousand rays in your belly. All the rest is nothing.
The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense.
Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.
I’d like to live as a poor man with lots of money.
I am always doing things I can’t do, that’s how I get to do them.
God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant, and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying other things.
If only we could pull out our brains and use only our eyes.
Famous Picasso Quotes About Art
Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.
Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.
To draw, you must close your eyes and sing.
Look for a situation in which your work will give you as much happiness as your spare time.
We artists are indestructible; even in a prison, or in a concentration camp, I would be almighty in my own world of art, even if I had to paint my pictures with my wet tongue on the dusty floor of my cell.
Action is the foundational key to all success.
He can who thinks he can, and he can’t who thinks he can’t. This is an inexorable, indisputable law.
I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else.
Every now and then one paints a picture that seems to have opened a door and serves as a stepping stone to other things.
Go and do the things you can’t. That is how you get to do them.
Give me a museum and I’ll fill it.
Every positive value has its price in negative terms… the genius of Einstein leads to Hiroshima.
Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.
Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this? no. Just as one can never learn how to paint.
The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.
Without great solitude, no serious work is possible.
Everything is a miracle. It is a miracle that one does not melt in one’s bath.
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.
The purpose of art is to wash the dust of daily life off our souls.
Painting is not made to decorate apartments. It’s an offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy.
You have to have an idea of what you are going to do, but it should be a vague idea.
The people who make art their business are mostly imposters.
Painting is stronger than me, it makes me do its bidding.
Everybody has the same energy potential. The average person wastes him in a dozen little ways. I bring mine to bear on one thing only: my paintings and everything else is sacrificed to it…myself included.
Painting it’s a blind man’s profession. A painter is painting not what he sees but what he feels.
It is your work in life that is the ultimate seduction.
The older you get, the stronger the wind gets — and it’s always in your face.
An idea is a point of departure and no more. As soon as you elaborate on it, it becomes transformed by thought.
Wrapping up:
In the end, Picasso’s legacy is not just about his art, but about his ability to capture the essence of what it means to be human through his words and his work.
As we continue to explore his quotes and his art, we are reminded that creativity knows no bounds and that anything is possible if we have the courage to pursue our dreams.
Whether you’re an aspiring artist or simply looking for inspiration in your everyday life, Picasso quotes offer valuable insights into the creative process and the human experience.