Balthus on painting
Sunday, January 27th, 2008“The humility of the early Italian painters constantly compels me to imitate them. Personality cults by contemporary painters infuriate me. One must seek the opposite, fade away more every day, find exactness only in the art of painting, and always forget oneself. Instead, one sees nothing but self exhibitionism, personal confessions, intimate avowals, auto voyeurism, and egoistic declarations. I often say that one mustn’t try to explain oneself, but rather the world and its darkness and mystery… But I’ve always persisted on the path of solitude and exactingness. Painting cannot be done amid the world’s hubbub, by adopting its rhythm and complaisance. It is better to seek solitude and silence, to be surrounded by past masters, to reinvent the world, not to be cradled by false sirens, cash, galleries, fashionable games, etc…”
