Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything.

Quote by Gustave Flaubert

Topics: Art Quotes

One mustn't look at the abyss, because there is at the bottom an inexpressible charm...

One mustn't look at the abyss, because there is at the bottom an inexpressible charm...

To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if...

To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if...

Oh, if I had been loved at the age of seventeen, what an idiot I...

Oh, if I had been loved at the age of seventeen, what an idiot I...

One arrives at style only with atrocious effort, with fanatical and devoted stubbornness.

One arrives at style only with atrocious effort, with fanatical and devoted stubbornness.

Of all the icy blasts that blow on love, a request for money is the...

Of all the icy blasts that blow on love, a request for money is the...

The artist must be in his work as God is in creation, invisible and all-powerful;...

The artist must be in his work as God is in creation, invisible and all-powerful;...

Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears...

Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears...

The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to the level of stupidity...

The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to the level of stupidity...

Madame Bovary is myself.

Madame Bovary is myself.

The true poet for me is a priest. As soon as he dons the cassock,...

The true poet for me is a priest. As soon as he dons the cassock,...

Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance...

Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance...

A friend who dies, it's something of you who dies.

A friend who dies, it's something of you who dies.

Writing is a dog's life, but the only life worth living.

Writing is a dog's life, but the only life worth living.

I go from exasperation to a state of collapse, then I recover and go from...

I go from exasperation to a state of collapse, then I recover and go from...

The future is the worst thing about the present.

The future is the worst thing about the present.

Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the...

Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the...

You can calculate the worth of a man by the number of his enemies, and...

You can calculate the worth of a man by the number of his enemies, and...

There are neither good nor bad subjects. From the point of view of pure Art,...

There are neither good nor bad subjects. From the point of view of pure Art,...

Anything becomes interesting if you look at it long enough.

Anything becomes interesting if you look at it long enough.

Art requires neither complaisance nor politeness; nothing but faith, faith and freedom.

Art requires neither complaisance nor politeness; nothing but faith, faith and freedom.