51 Quotes by Max Beckmann

Art is creative for the sake of realization, not for amusement: for transfiguration, not for the sake of play. It is the quest of our self that drives us along the eternal and never-ending journey we must all make.

Art is creative for the sake of realization, not for amusement... for transfiguration, not for the sake of play.

On my left the shooting had the sharp explosion of the infantry artillery, on my right could be heard the sporadic cannon shots thundering from the front, and up above the sky was clear and the sun bright.

I hardly need to abstract things, for each object is unreal enough already, so unreal that I can only make it real by means of painting.

I do not weep: I loathe tears, for they are a sign of slavery.

What are you? What am I? Those are the questions that constantly persecute and torment me and perhaps also play some part in my art.

What I want to show in my work is the idea which hides itself behind so-called reality. I am seeking for the bridge which leans from the visible to the invisible through reality. It may sound paradoxical, but it is in fact reality which forms the mystery of our existence.

One of my problems is to find the self.

I am seeking for the bridge which leans from the visible to the invisible through reality.