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1. public+(OP)[view] [source] 2026-01-24 14:46:40
> I ask myself "which approaches could be done in one week?".

This is exactly how all good art is done. There's an old French saying, une toile exige un mur.

replies(1): >>dxdm+PD
2. dxdm+PD[view] [source] 2026-01-24 19:04:34
>>public+(OP)
> No results found for "une toile exige un mur".

In case anyone else is wondering: The French phrase can be translated literally as "a canvas requires a wall", or less closely, "its boundaries are important for every picture".

(I am not a native French speaker and just piecing this together with a dictionary.)

replies(1): >>wiethe+8U
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3. wiethe+8U[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-24 20:45:53
>>dxdm+PD
French guy here: never heard of "une toile exige un mur".

Not a single result in French also.

I know there's a (more popular?) saying that is very similar but can't remember it atm.

replies(1): >>public+QX
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4. public+QX[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-24 21:12:30
>>wiethe+8U
Are you sure? I thought it was Renoir or Batut, or Bresson, or perhaps Watteau, who, when asked for his most useful advice to a new artist, famously uttered this short and mysterious phrase. Could have sworn LaBeouf quoted it in an interview after he collaborated with artist Cantor on their magnum opus.
replies(1): >>wiethe+P61
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5. wiethe+P61[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-24 22:16:38
>>public+QX
It could be a niche quote in an art history book, but it could hardly be qualified as a saying.

I asked around since my first comment and not a single person knew about it.

replies(1): >>public+u91
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6. public+u91[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-24 22:38:06
>>wiethe+P61
It's so memorable, probably why it stick in my memory: how can you have a canvas without a wall? The wall is the canvas. Yet the wall simultaneously constrains the canvas, thus allowing it to become the canvas, to become worthy of a canvas. This French idiom says so much without saying practically anything.
replies(1): >>dxdm+Vo2
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7. dxdm+Vo2[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-25 11:47:59
>>public+u91
Coming back at this with a fresh mind, whoever said it could also have meant that every painting should be displayed: it requires a wall to hang on.

As you say, it's not immediately clear what is meant.

replies(1): >>public+5F2
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8. public+5F2[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-25 14:17:07
>>dxdm+Vo2
Even more evidence of how versatile that French phrase is. There's just so many acceptable meanings to it, and every one of them points to the same conclusion: bounds enable art.
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