--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But, of course, of course, I imitated…" description: "\"“But, of course, of course, I imitated everyone! Except myself. -- Pablo Picasso”\" — André Malraux" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/andre-malraux-5211_art_but-of-course-of-course-i-imitated-every_1944063.jpg" --- # But, of course, of course, I imitated everyone! Except… ![“But, of course, of course, I imitated everyone! Except myself. -- Pablo Picasso” quote by André Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/andre-malraux-5211_art_but-of-course-of-course-i-imitated-every_1944063.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/andre-malraux-5211_art_but-of-course-of-course-i-imitated-every_1944063.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/andre-malraux-5211_art_but-of-course-of-course-i-imitated-every_1944063.jpg) > ““But, of course, of course, I imitated everyone! Except myself. -- Pablo Picasso”” [André Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admits to copying others but claims no original self, highlighting a paradox of imitation and authenticity. **In simple terms:** I copy others, but not myself. Key Takeaway Recognize your unique voice. Themes creativity identity authenticity Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artistic development - personal branding - self‑discovery Key Concepts imitation self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How can you differentiate imitation from genuine expression? - What steps help you discover your authentic self? A Different Perspective Originality cannot be forced; it must emerge naturally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Imitated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imitated/) ## Related quotes > [“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality. —Pablo Picasso”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-b-burger/there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always-start-with-something/) [Edward B. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-b-burger/) > [Our farm is a 15-minute walk to Pablo Picasso's last home. Alongside it stands the lovely Notre-Dame-de-Vie Chapel with its 13th-century bell tower, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-drinkwater/our-farm-is-a-15-minute-walk-to-pablo-picasso-s-last-home-alongside/) [Carol Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-drinkwater/) > ['Le Reve' may be one of the three best pictures Pablo Picasso ever painted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wynn/le-reve-may-be-one-of-the-three-best-pictures-pablo-picasso-ever/) [Steve Wynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wynn/) > [The most evil person I ever met was a toss-up between Pablo Picasso and the publisher-crook Robert Maxwell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/the-most-evil-person-i-ever-met-was-a-toss-up-between-pablo-picasso/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [ \[Pablo\] Picasso really changed my life. It's strange to say so, but I started to see some Picasso paintings very early. I was very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/pablo-picasso-really-changed-my-life-it-s-strange-to-say-so-but-i/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [I carried on buying paintings, works of art, and Yves Saint Laurent, if I may say so, had a right of inspection. We even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-berge/i-carried-on-buying-paintings-works-of-art-and-yves-saint-laurent-if/) [Pierre Berge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-berge/) > [“Tu mejor capital es tu salud, aprovéchala. Si es buena no la malogres; si no lo es, no la estropees más” Pablo Picasso.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jota-norte/tu-mejor-capital-es-tu-salud-aprov-chala-si-es-buena-no-la-malogres/) Jota Norte > [ \[Pablo\] Picasso was born in my hometown, in Málaga, so I have this of strange connection with his persona and with what he did.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-banderas/pablo-picasso-was-born-in-my-hometown-in-m-laga-so-i-have-this-of/) [Antonio Banderas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-banderas/) > [Pablo Picasso was generous. But he always signed and dedicated his gifts even when he knew that people would sell them because they needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-picasso/pablo-picasso-was-generous-but-he-always-signed-and-dedicated-his/) [Claude Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-picasso/) > [“Pablo Picasso rode on the crest of the Modern Art wave. Several”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-brody/pablo-picasso-rode-on-the-crest-of-the-modern-art-wave-several/) Paul Brody > [We are the two great painters of this era; you are in the Egyptian style, I in themodern style. (to Pablo Picasso)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-rousseau/we-are-the-two-great-painters-of-this-era-you-are-in-the-egyptian/) [Henri Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-rousseau/) > [“Because life, as Pablo Picasso averred, 'is a very bad novel', it has to be reworked through the writers' suffering into something much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cirilo-f-bautista/because-life-as-pablo-picasso-averred-is-a-very-bad-novel-it-has-to/) [Cirilo F. Bautista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cirilo-f-bautista/) > [Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-richman/pablo-picasso-was-never-called-an-asshole/) [Jonathan Richman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-richman/) > [You couldn't forget Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Joan Miro either. And it had to be, you know, at least as good or better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/you-couldn-t-forget-pablo-picasso-henri-matisse-and-joan-miro-either/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [I will never get tired of looking at works by Pablo Picasso. I will never get tired of looking at work by Francis Bacon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-allen-mellen/i-will-never-get-tired-of-looking-at-works-by-pablo-picasso-i-will/) [Polly Allen Mellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-allen-mellen/) ## More by André Malraux > [The mind supplies the idea of a nation, but what gives this idea its sentimental force is a community of dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-mind-supplies-the-idea-of-a-nation-but-what-gives-this-idea-its/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [If we cannot shape our destiny there as no such thing as witchcraft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/if-we-cannot-shape-our-destiny-there-as-no-such-thing-as-witchcraft/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [You can only make art that talks to the masses when you have nothing to say to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/you-can-only-make-art-that-talks-to-the-masses-when-you-have-nothing/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [The great mystery is not that we should have been thrown down here at random between the profusion of matter and that of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-great-mystery-is-not-that-we-should-have-been-thrown-down-here-at/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [“The day may come when, contemplating a world given back to the primeval forst, a human survivor will have no means of even guessing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-day-may-come-when-contemplating-a-world-given-back-to-the/) [André Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Some pictures are in the gallery because they belong to humanity and others because they belong to the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/some-pictures-are-in-the-gallery-because-they-belong-to-humanity-and/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [The basic problem is that our civilization, which is a civilization of machines, can teach man everything except how to be a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-basic-problem-is-that-our-civilization-which-is-a-civilization-of/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [The artist is not the transcriber of the world, he is its rival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-artist-is-not-the-transcriber-of-the-world-he-is-its-rival/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Every great masterpiece is a purification of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/every-great-masterpiece-is-a-purification-of-the-world/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Even the West has known the architecture of empty space, whose object, for thousands of years, has been less to construct divine houses, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/even-the-west-has-known-the-architecture-of-empty-space-whose-object/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [The crucial discovery was made that, in order to become painting, the universe seen by the artist had to become a private one created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-crucial-discovery-was-made-that-in-order-to-become-painting-the/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Art is a revolt against fate. All art is a revolt against man's fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/art-is-a-revolt-against-fate-all-art-is-a-revolt-against-man-s-fate/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [The twenty-first century will be spiritual or it will not be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-twenty-first-century-will-be-spiritual-or-it-will-not-be/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [“I seek the crucial region of the soul where absolute Evil and fraternity clash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/i-seek-the-crucial-region-of-the-soul-where-absolute-evil-and/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Man knows that the world is not made on a human scale; and he wishes that it were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/man-knows-that-the-world-is-not-made-on-a-human-scale-and-he-wishes/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) [Explore all 98 André Malraux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But, of course, of course, I imitated everyone! 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