--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Extreme complication is contrary to art." description: "\"Extreme complication is contrary to art.\" — Claude Debussy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/claude-debussy-11298_art_extreme-complication-is-contrary-to-art_3007526.png" --- # Extreme complication is contrary to art. ![“Extreme complication is contrary to art.” quote by Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/claude-debussy-11298_art_extreme-complication-is-contrary-to-art_3007526.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/claude-debussy-11298_art_extreme-complication-is-contrary-to-art_3007526.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/claude-debussy-11298_art_extreme-complication-is-contrary-to-art_3007526.png) > “Extreme complication is contrary to art.” [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Complexity hinders artistic expression; simplicity serves art better. **In simple terms:** Simplicity enhances art. Key Takeaway Simplify your work. Themes artistic simplicity complexity Mood reflective balanced Type theoretical artistic When to use this quote - painting - composition - creative process Key Concepts music visual art design Questions to Reflect On - When does simplicity limit depth? - How can you balance complexity and clarity? A Different Perspective May oversimplify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Complication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complication/) [Complication Contrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complication-contrary-4804408/) [Contrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrary/) [Contrary Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrary-art-4804409/) [Extreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extreme/) [Extreme Complication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extreme-complication-4804407/) ## Related quotes > [Playing for complications is an extreme measure that a player should adopt only when he cannot find a clear and logical plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-alekhine/playing-for-complications-is-an-extreme-measure-that-a-player-should/) [Alexander Alekhine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-alekhine/) > [..if a special geometry has to be invented in order to account for a falling apple, even Newton might be appalled at the complications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-lodge/if-a-special-geometry-has-to-be-invented-in-order-to-account-for-a/) [Oliver Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-lodge/) > [The worst crime of all would be that a mistake happens and no one talks about it or learns from it. So, as unsettling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjay-gupta/the-worst-crime-of-all-would-be-that-a-mistake-happens-and-no-one/) [Sanjay Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjay-gupta/) > [Nothing worthwhile is ever without complications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/nothing-worthwhile-is-ever-without-complications/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Man is a rational animal—so at least I have been told. … Aristotle, so far as I know, was the first man to proclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/man-is-a-rational-animal-so-at-least-i-have-been-told-aristotle-so/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Discrimination and multiple deprivations of human rights are also frequently part of the problem, sentencing entire populations to poverty... It is surely a matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/navi-pillay/discrimination-and-multiple-deprivations-of-human-rights-are-also/) [Navi Pillay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/navi-pillay/) > [There are children who will leave a game to go and be bored in a corner of the garret. How often have I wished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/there-are-children-who-will-leave-a-game-to-go-and-be-bored-in-a/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Midwives and doctors play a crucial role preventing unnecessary maternal deaths. They educate women about nutrition, health and family planning. And they step in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liya-kebede/midwives-and-doctors-play-a-crucial-role-preventing-unnecessary/) [Liya Kebede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liya-kebede/) > [Maternal health remains a staggering challenge, particularly in the developing world. Globally, a woman dies from complications in childbirth every minute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-capshaw/maternal-health-remains-a-staggering-challenge-particularly-in-the/) [Jessica Capshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-capshaw/) > [Love with complications. Scenery was the last thing on my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/love-with-complications-scenery-was-the-last-thing-on-my-mind/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Probably, the secret is to be less complicated. We of course love to make complications - look at the way we live. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-huxley/probably-the-secret-is-to-be-less-complicated-we-of-course-love-to/) [Laura Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-huxley/) > [Unfortunately, nature seems unaware of our intellectual need for convenience and unity, and very often takes delight in complication and diversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/unfortunately-nature-seems-unaware-of-our-intellectual-need-for/) [Santiago Ramon y Cajal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/) > [Ive always liked the idea of being a father. And Ive always romanticised it, because I lost my father when I was young. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/ive-always-liked-the-idea-of-being-a-father-and-ive-always/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [frustration, complication and misery are available in abundance, but so is God's grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/frustration-complication-and-misery-are-available-in-abundance-but-so/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Complexity begets ambiguity, which yields in all ways to prejudice and avarice. Complication does not so much defeat Men as arm them with fancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/complexity-begets-ambiguity-which-yields-in-all-ways-to-prejudice-and/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) ## More by Claude Debussy > [The worship of Adonis is united with that of Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/the-worship-of-adonis-is-united-with-that-of-christ/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [Works of art make rules; rules do not make works of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/works-of-art-make-rules-rules-do-not-make-works-of-art/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [Peter Townsend Music is the silence between the notes.. So could it be said that dance is the stillness between the steps?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/peter-townsend-music-is-the-silence-between-the-notes-so-could-it-be/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [Art is the most beautiful deception of all!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/art-is-the-most-beautiful-deception-of-all/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [But music, don't you know, is a dream from which the veils have been lifted. It's not even the expression of a feeling, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/but-music-don-t-you-know-is-a-dream-from-which-the-veils-have-been/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [There is nothing more musical than a sunset. He who feels what he sees will find no more beautiful example of development in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/there-is-nothing-more-musical-than-a-sunset-he-who-feels-what-he-sees/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [The attraction of the virtuoso for the public is very like that of the circus for the crowd. There is always the hope that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/the-attraction-of-the-virtuoso-for-the-public-is-very-like-that-of/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [Composers aren't daring enough. They're afraid of that sacred idol called 'common sense', which is the most dreadful thing I know - after all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/composers-aren-t-daring-enough-they-re-afraid-of-that-sacred-idol/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [If we look at the works of JS Bach ... on each page we discover things which we thought were born only yesterday, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/if-we-look-at-the-works-of-js-bach-on-each-page-we-discover-things/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [the colour of my soul is iron-grey and sad bats wheel about the steeple of my dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/the-colour-of-my-soul-is-iron-grey-and-sad-bats-wheel-about-the/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [Art is the most beautiful of all lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/art-is-the-most-beautiful-of-all-lies/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [Music is the space between the notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/music-is-the-space-between-the-notes/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [I love music passionately. And because I love it I try to free it from barren traditions that stifle it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/i-love-music-passionately-and-because-i-love-it-i-try-to-free-it-from/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [Music is in the space between the notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/music-is-in-the-space-between-the-notes/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [When Claude Debussy studied at the Paris Conservatory from age ten to age twenty-two, many considered him a rebel because of his treatment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/when-claude-debussy-studied-at-the-paris-conservatory-from-age-ten-to/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) [Explore all 60 Claude Debussy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Extreme complication is contrary to art.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Claude Debussy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/extreme-complication-is-contrary-to-art/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/extreme-complication-is-contrary-to-art/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/claude-debussy-11298_art_extreme-complication-is-contrary-to-art_3007526.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/claude-debussy-11298_art_extreme-complication-is-contrary-to-art_3007526.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/claude-debussy-11298_art_extreme-complication-is-contrary-to-art_3007526.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Extreme complication is contrary to art.” — Claude Debussy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Claude Debussy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Extreme complication is contrary to art.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/extreme-complication-is-contrary-to-art/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/extreme-complication-is-contrary-to-art/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```