--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cubism did not accept the logical…" description: "\"Cubism did not accept the logical consequences of its own discoveries; it was not developing abstraction towards its own goal, the expression of pure r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/piet-mondrian-14779_abstraction_cubism-did-not-accept-the-logical-conseq_3061571.jpg" --- # Cubism did not accept the logical consequences of its own… ![“Cubism did not accept the logical consequences of its own discoveries; it was not developing abstraction towards its own goal, the expression of pure reality.” quote by Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/piet-mondrian-14779_abstraction_cubism-did-not-accept-the-logical-conseq_3061571.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/piet-mondrian-14779_abstraction_cubism-did-not-accept-the-logical-conseq_3061571.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/piet-mondrian-14779_abstraction_cubism-did-not-accept-the-logical-conseq_3061571.jpg) > “Cubism did not accept the logical consequences of its own discoveries; it was not developing abstraction towards its own goal, the expression of pure reality.” [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cubism’s discoveries weren’t fully applied to its own aim of expressing pure reality, showing a gap between theory and practice. **In simple terms:** Cubism missed its own goal. Key Takeaway Align artistic methods with intended outcomes. Themes art theory abstraction reality methodology Mood reflective critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - painting - design - education - critique - exhibition Key Concepts Aesthetic theory creative process Questions to Reflect On - Why do creators sometimes ignore their own discoveries? - How can theory be better integrated into practice? A Different Perspective Artistic movements can become self‑referential and lose relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Cubism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cubism/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [When we discovered cubism, we did not have the aim of discovering cubism. We only wanted to express what was in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-we-discovered-cubism-we-did-not-have-the-aim-of-discovering/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [ This view \[of the infinite\], which I consider to be the sole correct one, is held by only a few. While possibly I am… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-cantor/this-view-of-the-infinite-which-i-consider-to-be-the-sole-correct-one/) [Georg Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-cantor/) > [Logical consequences are the scarecrows of fools and the beacons of wise men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/logical-consequences-are-the-scarecrows-of-fools-and-the-beacons-of/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Logical consequences are the scare-crows of fools and the beacons of wise men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/logical-consequences-are-the-scare-crows-of-fools-and-the-beacons-of/) [Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/) > [In past times when one lived in contact with nature, abstraction was easy; it was done unconsciously. Now in our denaturalized age abstraction becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/in-past-times-when-one-lived-in-contact-with-nature-abstraction-was/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [This new plastic idea will ignore the particulars of appearance, that is to say, natural form and colour. On the contrary, it should find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/this-new-plastic-idea-will-ignore-the-particulars-of-appearance-that/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [All painting - the painting of the past as well as of the present - shows us that its essential plastic means were only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/all-painting-the-painting-of-the-past-as-well-as-of-the-present-shows/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [The truly modern artist is aware of abstraction in an emotion of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/the-truly-modern-artist-is-aware-of-abstraction-in-an-emotion-of/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [Maybe Cubism started this way. Memory re-arranging a face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-rakow/maybe-cubism-started-this-way-memory-re-arranging-a-face/) Mary Rakow > [Cubism was an attack on the perspective that had been known and used for 500 years. It was the first big, big change. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/cubism-was-an-attack-on-the-perspective-that-had-been-known-and-used/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Cubism is the art of depicting new wholes with formal elements borrowed not only from the reality of vision, but from that of conception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-apollinaire/cubism-is-the-art-of-depicting-new-wholes-with-formal-elements/) [Guillaume Apollinaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-apollinaire/) > [The fact that for a long time Cubism has not been understood and that even today there are people who cannot see anything in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-fact-that-for-a-long-time-cubism-has-not-been-understood-and-that/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Most people don't do something seminal. I've done it twice: with my tent and my bed. Picasso did it with Cubism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/most-people-don-t-do-something-seminal-i-ve-done-it-twice-with-my/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [The goal I proposed myself in making cubism? To paint and nothing more... with a method linked only to my thought... Neither the good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-goal-i-proposed-myself-in-making-cubism-to-paint-and-nothing-more/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [In the early days the Cubism' method of grasping an object was to go round and round it. The Futurists declared that one had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gino-severini/in-the-early-days-the-cubism-method-of-grasping-an-object-was-to-go/) [Gino Severini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gino-severini/) ## More by Piet Mondrian > [To approach the spiritual in art, one will make as little use as possible of reality, because reality is opposed to the spiritual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/to-approach-the-spiritual-in-art-one-will-make-as-little-use-as/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [The more basic the color, the more inward, the more pure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/the-more-basic-the-color-the-more-inward-the-more-pure/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [Nature or, that which I see, inspires me, puts me, as with any painter, in an emotional state so that an urge comes about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-puts-me-as-with-any-painter-in/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [The only problem in art is to achieve a balance between the subjective and the objective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/the-only-problem-in-art-is-to-achieve-a-balance-between-the/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [Evolution is always the work of pioneers, and their followers are always small in number. This following is not a clique; it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/evolution-is-always-the-work-of-pioneers-and-their-followers-are/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [ The essence of painting has actually always been to make it \[the universal\] plastically perceptible through colour and line. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/the-essence-of-painting-has-actually-always-been-to-make-it-the/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [I think you too recognize the important relationship between philosophy and art, and it is just this relationship that most painters deny. The great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/i-think-you-too-recognize-the-important-relationship-between/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [The truly modern artist is aware of abstraction in an emotion of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/the-truly-modern-artist-is-aware-of-abstraction-in-an-emotion-of/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [If you follow nature you will not be able to vanquish the tragic in any real degree in your art... We must free ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/if-you-follow-nature-you-will-not-be-able-to-vanquish-the-tragic-in/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [I don't want pictures, I want to find things out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/i-don-t-want-pictures-i-want-to-find-things-out/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [All painting - the painting of the past as well as of the present - shows us that its essential plastic means were only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/all-painting-the-painting-of-the-past-as-well-as-of-the-present-shows/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [Why should art continue to follow nature when every other field has left nature behind?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/why-should-art-continue-to-follow-nature-when-every-other-field-has/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [The only problem in art is to achieve a balance between subjective and objective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/the-only-problem-in-art-is-to-achieve-a-balance-between-subjective/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [Observing sea, sky and stars, I sought to indicate their plastic function through a multiplicity of crossing verticals and horizontals. Impressed by the vastness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/observing-sea-sky-and-stars-i-sought-to-indicate-their-plastic/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [It is a task of art to express clear vision of reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/it-is-a-task-of-art-to-express-clear-vision-of-reality/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) [Explore all 45 Piet Mondrian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) ## More Abstraction quotes > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) Banesh Hoffmann > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) Alfred Aho > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [When novels deal in abstractions, they generally go off the rails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/when-novels-deal-in-abstractions-they-generally-go-off-the-rails/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) [Browse all 562 Abstraction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cubism did not accept the logical consequences of its own discoveries; it was not developing abstraction towards its own goal, the expression of pure reality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Piet Mondrian" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/cubism-did-not-accept-the-logical-consequences-of-its-own-discoveries/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstraction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/cubism-did-not-accept-the-logical-consequences-of-its-own-discoveries/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/piet-mondrian-14779_abstraction_cubism-did-not-accept-the-logical-conseq_3061571.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/piet-mondrian-14779_abstraction_cubism-did-not-accept-the-logical-conseq_3061571.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/piet-mondrian-14779_abstraction_cubism-did-not-accept-the-logical-conseq_3061571.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cubism did not accept the logical consequences of its own discoveries; it was not developing abstraction…” — Piet Mondrian", "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": "Piet Mondrian", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Cubism did not accept the logical...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/cubism-did-not-accept-the-logical-consequences-of-its-own-discoveries/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/cubism-did-not-accept-the-logical-consequences-of-its-own-discoveries/#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 } } ] } ```