--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you start with a portrait and search…" description: "\"When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form, a clear volume, through successive eliminations, you arrive inevitably at the egg. Likewise,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/pablo-picasso-552_artist_when-you-start-with-a-portrait-and-searc_3101094.jpg" --- # When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form… ![“When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form, a clear volume, through successive eliminations, you arrive inevitably at the egg. Likewise, starting with the egg and following the same process in reverse, one finishes with the portrait.” quote by Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/pablo-picasso-552_artist_when-you-start-with-a-portrait-and-searc_3101094.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/pablo-picasso-552_artist_when-you-start-with-a-portrait-and-searc_3101094.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/pablo-picasso-552_artist_when-you-start-with-a-portrait-and-searc_3101094.jpg) > “When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form, a clear volume, through successive eliminations, you arrive inevitably at the egg. Likewise, starting with the egg and following the same process in reverse, one finishes with the portrait.” [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Through abstraction and reduction, an image can be simplified to its essential form, and conversely, a simple form can be expanded into a complex image **In simple terms:** Simplify to essence, then rebuild complexity Key Takeaway Use reduction to discover core structure Themes art process abstraction creativity perception Mood contemplative analytical inspirational Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - drawing studies - design prototyping - concept development - educational workshops Key Concepts visual reduction form theory iteration Questions to Reflect On - What is lost when you strip away detail? - How can you balance simplicity with richness? A Different Perspective Over‑simplification may lose nuance and emotional depth ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Egg Following](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egg-following-5374480/) [Egg Likewise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egg-likewise-5374481/) [Following](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/following/) [Inevitably Egg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inevitably-egg-5374482/) [Portrait Search](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portrait-search-5374483/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure/) [Reverse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reverse/) [Starting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting/) [Starting Egg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting-egg-1906517/) [Volume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volume/) ## Related quotes > [I don't know what the creative process is. I don't know how to trick it into starting or how to egg it on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-don-t-know-what-the-creative-process-is-i-don-t-know-how-to-trick/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [From the Chinese perspective, Korea ranks about third or fourth in terms of trading volume and about third in terms of investment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-myung-bak/from-the-chinese-perspective-korea-ranks-about-third-or-fourth-in/) [Lee Myung-bak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-myung-bak/) > [In organic chemistry there exist certain types which are conserved even when, in place of hydrogen, equal volumes of chlorine, of bromine, etc. are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-dumas/in-organic-chemistry-there-exist-certain-types-which-are-conserved/) [Jean-Baptiste Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-dumas/) > [Vee is my un-twin. She's green-eyed, milky blond, and a few pounds over curvy. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-billingsley/i-think-if-you-turn-down-the-volume-on-the-good-comedy-you-should-not/) [Peter Billingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-billingsley/) > [They represent tomorrow's cigarette business. . . As this 14-24 age group matures, they will account for a key share of the total cigarette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-reynolds/they-represent-tomorrow-s-cigarette-business-as-this-14-24-age-group/) [R. J. Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-reynolds/) > [We set no volume goals in our insurance business generally-and certainly not in reinsurance-as virtually any volume can be achieved if profitability standards are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/we-set-no-volume-goals-in-our-insurance-business-generally-and/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [A poet could write volumes about diners, because they're so beautiful. They're brightly lit, with chrome and booths and Naugahyde and great waitresses. Now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/a-poet-could-write-volumes-about-diners-because-they-re-so-beautiful/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious views of anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-see-no-good-reasons-why-the-views-given-in-this-volume-should-shock/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [ There's a fantastic, thousand-page book by David Thomson about \[David O. Selznick\]. Again, it's not the best argument or the best advertisement for his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-longworth/there-s-a-fantastic-thousand-page-book-by-david-thomson-about-david-o/) [Karina Longworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-longworth/) ## More by Pablo Picasso > [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/) > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [By amusing myself with all these games, all this nonsense, all these picture puzzles, I became famous... I am only a public entertainer who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/by-amusing-myself-with-all-these-games-all-this-nonsense-all-these/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [One never knows what one is going to do. One starts a painting and then it becomes something quite different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/one-never-knows-what-one-is-going-to-do-one-starts-a-painting-and/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Now there is fame! Of all - hunger, misery, the incomprehension by the public - fame is by far the worst. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/now-there-is-fame-of-all-hunger-misery-the-incomprehension-by-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [It takes a long time to become young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-takes-a-long-time-to-become-young/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/we-all-know-that-art-is-not-truth-art-is-a-lie-that-makes-us-realize/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [You see these thick curtains shut out the daylight: artificial light suits me a great deal better; it's absolutely steady, and much more exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/you-see-these-thick-curtains-shut-out-the-daylight-artificial-light/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The best calculation is the absence of calculation. Once you have attained a certain level of recognition, others generally figure that when you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-best-calculation-is-the-absence-of-calculation-once-you-have/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Action is the foundational key to all success. --Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/action-is-the-foundational-key-to-all-success-pablo-picasso/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The earth doesn't have a housekeeper to do the dusting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-earth-doesn-t-have-a-housekeeper-to-do-the-dusting/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. 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Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. 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I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form, a clear volume, through successive eliminations, you arrive inevitably at the egg. 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