Comment by dxdm
7 hours ago
> 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.)
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.
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.
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.
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