A biography for Paul Kleehasn’t been written yet.
“One eye sees, the other feels.”
“When looking at any significant work of art, remember that a more significant one probably has had to be sacrificed.”
“Children also have artistic ability, and there is wisdom in there having it! The more helpless they are, the more instructive are the examples they furnish us; and they must be preserved free of corruption from an early age.”
“Art does not reproduce what we see; rather, it makes us see.”
“A line is a dot that went for a walk.”
“Art does not reproduce what is visible, it makes things visible.”
“The art of mastering life is the prerequisite for all further forms of expression, whether they are paintings, sculptures, tragedies, or musical compositions.”
“A drawing is simply a line going for a walk.”
“Everything vanishes around me, and works are born as if out of the void. Ripe, graphic fruits fall off. My hand has become the obedient instrument of a remote will.”
“Color possesses me. I don't have to pursue it. It will possess me always, I know it. That is the meaning of this happy hour: Color and I are one. I am a painter.”
“A single day is enough to make us a little larger or, another time, a little smaller.”
“In the final analysis, a drawing simply is no longer a drawing, no matter how self-sufficient its execution may be. It is a symbol, and the more profoundly the imaginary lines of projection meet higher dimensions, the better.”
“One does not lash hat lies at a distance. The foibles that we ridicule must at least be a little bit our own. Only then will the work be a part of our own flesh. The garden must be weeded.”
“Nature is garrulous to the point of confusion, let the artist be truly taciturn.”
“The worst state of affairs is when science begins to concern itself with art.”
“He has found his style, when he cannot do otherwise.”
“The painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen.”
“Art does not reproduce what we see. It makes us see.”
“Beauty is as relative as light and dark. Thus, there exists no beautiful woman, none at all, because you are never certain that a still far more beautiful woman will not appear and completely shame the supposed beauty of the first.”
“Color has got me. I no longer need to chase after it. It has got me for ever. I know it. That is the meaning of this happy hour.”