--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In French, there is an old expression, la…" description: "\"In French, there is an old expression, la patte, meaning the artist's touch, his personal style, his 'paw'. I wanted to get away from la patte and from..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_in-french-there-is-an-old-expression-la_2915822.jpg" --- # In French, there is an old expression, la patte, meaning… ![“In French, there is an old expression, la patte, meaning the artist's touch, his personal style, his 'paw'. I wanted to get away from la patte and from all that retinal painting.” quote by Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_in-french-there-is-an-old-expression-la_2915822.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_in-french-there-is-an-old-expression-la_2915822.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_in-french-there-is-an-old-expression-la_2915822.jpg) > “In French, there is an old expression, la patte, meaning the artist's touch, his personal style, his 'paw'. I wanted to get away from la patte and from all that retinal painting.” [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts personal artistic style with a desire to move beyond it, seeking freedom from signature constraints. **In simple terms:** Desire to escape personal style. Key Takeaway Embrace new creative approaches. Themes artistic identity personal style creativity Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - painting - digital art - design - branding Key Concepts expressionism authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How can you break free from your signature? - What new methods could you explore? A Different Perspective Personal style can limit experimentation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Personal style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-style/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) ## Related quotes > [From a person standpoint, the old expression of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger is somewhat true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-mcmahon/from-a-person-standpoint-the-old-expression-of-what-doesn-t-kill-you/) [Vince McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-mcmahon/) > [“An old expression--'she looks like she was weaned on a pickle'--came to my mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepper-phillips/an-old-expression-she-looks-like-she-was-weaned-on-a-pickle-came-to/) [Pepper Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepper-phillips/) > [...it's as empty as a merchant's soul. Sorry, Kheldar, it's just an old expression." "That's all right, Beldin," Silk forgave him grandly. "These little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eddings/it-s-as-empty-as-a-merchant-s-soul-sorry-kheldar-it-s-just-an-old/) [David Eddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eddings/) > [It is only after years of preparation that the young artist should touch color - not color used descriptively, that is, but as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/it-is-only-after-years-of-preparation-that-the-young-artist-should/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I want everyone to know that no R&B artist can touch my skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sisqo/i-want-everyone-to-know-that-no-r-b-artist-can-touch-my-skill/) [Sisqo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sisqo/) > [I'm just happy I got to express who I am as an artist and touch people's hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/i-m-just-happy-i-got-to-express-who-i-am-as-an-artist-and-touch/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [With rare exceptions, I respond most to painting that cuts across grain rather than following it. I think the artist here can get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/with-rare-exceptions-i-respond-most-to-painting-that-cuts-across/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [In every artist there is a touch of audacity without which no talent is conceivable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/in-every-artist-there-is-a-touch-of-audacity-without-which-no-talent/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It is only after years of struggle and deprivation that the young artist should touch color - and then only in the company of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-greco/it-is-only-after-years-of-struggle-and-deprivation-that-the-young/) [El Greco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-greco/) > [Personal style is about taking a risk, trying something unexpected, and having fun with fashion, but always being true to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-lauren/personal-style-is-about-taking-a-risk-trying-something-unexpected-and/) [Ralph Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-lauren/) > [I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-no-policy-for-or-against-only-a-personal-style-which-is-to-say/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Eva," she said exasperated. "You should've established a personal style by now-and it shouldn't be sweats!" Monica, Eva Tramell's mother, in "Reflected in You”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/eva-she-said-exasperated-you-should-ve-established-a-personal-style/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [My dad had a personal style which was very attractive. It was quite reserved and quite elegant, and it was infectious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/my-dad-had-a-personal-style-which-was-very-attractive-it-was-quite/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I think dressing up or down should be a creative experience. Exciting. Fun. For me the key to personal style lies in accessories. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/i-think-dressing-up-or-down-should-be-a-creative-experience-exciting/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) > [Personal Style comes from within. It's when the woman, her individuality and spirit come through. She uses clothes to express who she is and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/personal-style-comes-from-within-it-s-when-the-woman-her/) [Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/) ## More by Marcel Duchamp > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Humor is the only reason to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/humor-is-the-only-reason-to-live/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/the-creative-act-is-not-performed-by-the-artist-alone-the-spectator/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I believe that the artist doesn't know what he does. I attach even more importance to the spectator than to the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/i-believe-that-the-artist-doesn-t-know-what-he-does-i-attach-even/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Living is more a question of what one spends than what one makes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/living-is-more-a-question-of-what-one-spends-than-what-one-makes/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Rational intelligence is dangerous and leads to ratiocination. The painter is a medium who doesn't realize what he is doing. No translation can express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/rational-intelligence-is-dangerous-and-leads-to-ratiocination-the/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Everything important that I have done can be put into a little suitcase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/everything-important-that-i-have-done-can-be-put-into-a-little/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [As soon as we start putting our thoughts into words and sentences everything gets distorted, language is just no damn good—I use it because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/as-soon-as-we-start-putting-our-thoughts-into-words-and-sentences/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [The basis for my own work during the years just before coming to America in 1915 was a desire to break up forms -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/the-basis-for-my-own-work-during-the-years-just-before-coming-to/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [The curious thing about that moustache and goatee is that when you look at the Mona Lisa it becomes a man. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/the-curious-thing-about-that-moustache-and-goatee-is-that-when-you/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I am afraid to end up being in need to sell canvases - in other words, to be a society painter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/i-am-afraid-to-end-up-being-in-need-to-sell-canvases-in-other-words/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [In the midst of each epoch, I fully realize that a new epoch will dawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/in-the-midst-of-each-epoch-i-fully-realize-that-a-new-epoch-will-dawn/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [To all appearances the artist acts like a mediumistic being who, from the labyrinth beyond time and space, seeks his way out to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/to-all-appearances-the-artist-acts-like-a-mediumistic-being-who-from/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Words such as truth, art, veracity, or anything are stupid in themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/words-such-as-truth-art-veracity-or-anything-are-stupid-in-themselves/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) [Explore all 169 Marcel Duchamp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) ## 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": "In French, there is an old expression, la patte, meaning the artist's touch, his personal style, his 'paw'. 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