Odilon Redon, “Rocks on the Beach” (c. 1883)

“Often we fail to see that a painting is just made out of stuff that was dug up from the ground, combined with some oils and other things, and then made into the likeness of a person, a landscape, angels, or whatever. The most important part is how we manage to create a picture of the world that is both a reflection and an ideal. This fascinates me. When people look at a painting, they stand in front of it as if there is a line on the floor, and they move their body forward and back. They are seeing paint and then image, and every time they move, they cross the threshold that separates these two notions. It’s this transformative moment when something that’s just neat becomes intelligent, becomes something that we can relate to and understand. It’s beautiful.”

Courtesy the Museum of Modern Art, New York