Georges Braque on Art and Painting

" In art, progress does not consist in extension, but in knowledge of limits."

" Limited means often constitute the charm and force of primitive painting. Extension, on the contrary, leads the arts to decadence. "

" The painter thinks in terms of form and color. "

" Painting is a method of representation. "

" One must not imitate what one wants to create. "

" One does not imitate appearances; the appearance is the result."

" To be pure imitation, painting must forget appearance. "

" To work from nature is to improvise. "

" One must be aware of a formula good for everything , that will serve to interpret the other arts as well as reality, and that instead of creating will only produce a style, or rather a stylization. "

" The sense deform, the mind forms. Work to perfect the mind. There is no certitude but in what the mind conceives. "

Source
Goldwater, R & Treves, M. 1976. Artists on Art, From the 14th to the 20th Century . John Murray.

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