--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What are you? What am I? Those are the…" description: "\"What are you? What am I? Those are the questions that constantly persecute and torment me and perhaps also play some part in my art.\" — Max Beckmann" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/631/max-beckmann-14117_art_what-are-you-what-am-i-those-are-the-que_2316147.jpg" --- # What are you? What am I? Those are the questions that… ![“What are you? What am I? Those are the questions that constantly persecute and torment me and perhaps also play some part in my art.” quote by Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/631/max-beckmann-14117_art_what-are-you-what-am-i-those-are-the-que_2316147.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/631/max-beckmann-14117_art_what-are-you-what-am-i-those-are-the-que_2316147.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/631/max-beckmann-14117_art_what-are-you-what-am-i-those-are-the-que_2316147.jpg) > “What are you? What am I? Those are the questions that constantly persecute and torment me and perhaps also play some part in my art.” [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist wrestles with existential questions that shape both life and creative work. **In simple terms:** Existential doubt fuels art. Key Takeaway Embrace questioning for deeper art. Themes existentialism self‑identity artistic process Mood introspective philosophical Type artistic existential When to use this quote - personal journaling - studio practice - art criticism Key Concepts philosophy psychology creative inspiration Questions to Reflect On - What does “What are you?” mean for you? - How does doubt influence your art? A Different Perspective Constant questioning can stall creation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Constantly Persecute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constantly-persecute-5519677/) [Persecute Torment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persecute-torment-5516970/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) [Questions Constantly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions-constantly-5519676/) [Torment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torment/) ## Related quotes > [Now, I appeal to the consciences of those that persecute, torment, destroy, and kill other men upon pretence of religion, whether they do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/now-i-appeal-to-the-consciences-of-those-that-persecute-torment/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [The vague torment of ... ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-vague-torment-of-ambition/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [Ardent desire for knowledge, in fact, is the one motive attracting and supporting investigators in their efforts; and just this knowledge, really grasped and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/ardent-desire-for-knowledge-in-fact-is-the-one-motive-attracting-and/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [Oftentimes, the funniest comedians are people who've gone through personal torment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-sprouse/oftentimes-the-funniest-comedians-are-people-who-ve-gone-through/) [Cole Sprouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-sprouse/) > [If it is not strong upon your heart to practice what you read, to what end do you read? To increase your own condemnation?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/if-it-is-not-strong-upon-your-heart-to-practice-what-you-read-to-what/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Well, I do expect a lot of myself. I'm a harsh critic because I know what I'm capable of. 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And he wanted it to last as long as possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ringle/being-around-her-now-was-nine-parts-bliss-and-one-part-torment-and-he/) [Molly Ringle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ringle/) > [Speak only the speech that neither torments self nor does harm to others. That speech is truly well spoken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/speak-only-the-speech-that-neither-torments-self-nor-does-harm-to/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or notworth living. School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/teenage-girls-are-extremists-who-see-the-world-in-black-and-white/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-people-are-suicidal-their-thinking-is-paralyzed-their-options/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Max Beckmann > [It is, of course, a luxury to create art and, on top of this, to insist on expressing one's own artistic opinion. Nothing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/it-is-of-course-a-luxury-to-create-art-and-on-top-of-this-to-insist/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [What I want to show in my work is the idea which hides itself behind so-called reality. I am seeking for the bridge which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/what-i-want-to-show-in-my-work-is-the-idea-which-hides-itself-behind/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [“Art is creative for the sake of realization, not for amusement: for transfiguration, not for the sake of play. It is the quest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/art-is-creative-for-the-sake-of-realization-not-for-amusement-for/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [My figures come and go, suggested by fortune or misfortune. I try to fix them divested of their apparent accidental quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/my-figures-come-and-go-suggested-by-fortune-or-misfortune-i-try-to/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [Colour, as the strange and magnificent expression of the inscrutable spectrum of Eternity, is beautiful and important to me as a painter; I use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/colour-as-the-strange-and-magnificent-expression-of-the-inscrutable/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [One of my problems is to find the Ego, which has only one form and is immortal - to find it in animals and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/one-of-my-problems-is-to-find-the-ego-which-has-only-one-form-and-is/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [One of my problems is to find the self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/one-of-my-problems-is-to-find-the-self/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [What I want to show in my work is the idea which hides itself behind so-called reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/what-i-want-to-show-in-my-work-is-the-idea-which-hides-itself-behind-2/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [I believe the reason I love painting so much is that it forces one to be objective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/i-believe-the-reason-i-love-painting-so-much-is-that-it-forces-one-to/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [We will enjoy ourselves with the forms that are given us: a human face, a hand, the breast of a woman or the body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/we-will-enjoy-ourselves-with-the-forms-that-are-given-us-a-human-face/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [ The world is rather shot to pieces \[end of World War II - 1945\], but the spectators climb out of their caves and pretend… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/the-world-is-rather-shot-to-pieces-end-of-world-war-ii-1945-but-the/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [In principle, any abstraction of the object is allowed which has a sufficiently strong creative power behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/in-principle-any-abstraction-of-the-object-is-allowed-which-has-a/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [When spiritual, metaphysical, material, or immaterial events come into my life, I can only fix them by way of painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/when-spiritual-metaphysical-material-or-immaterial-events-come-into/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [I do not weep: I loathe tears, for they are a sign of slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/i-do-not-weep-i-loathe-tears-for-they-are-a-sign-of-slavery/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [One thing is sure - we have to transform the three-dimensional world of objects into the two-dimensional world of the canvas.. ..To transform three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/one-thing-is-sure-we-have-to-transform-the-three-dimensional-world-of/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) [Explore all 48 Max Beckmann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) ## 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": "What are you? 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