Painting is something that takes place among the colors, and one has to leave them alone completely, so that they can settle the matter among themselves. Their intercourse: this is the whole of painting. Whoever meddles, arranges, injects his human deliberation, his wit, his advocacy, his intellectual agility in any way, is already disturbing and clouding their activity.

Summary

This quote by Rainer Maria Rilke emphasizes the intrinsic nature of painting. Rilke suggests that the process of painting occurs solely within the colors themselves. He advises artists to refrain from interfering or imposing their conscious decisions on the creative act, as the colors need the freedom to interact and resolve their own harmonies. Any human intervention, such as planning, cleverness, persuasion, or intellectual cleverness, would obstruct and obscure the pure essence of painting. Rilke regards the spontaneous interaction of colors as the essence and entirety of the painting process.

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