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Robert Musil Quotes

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Robert Musil, born on November 6, 1880, and died on April 15, 1942, was one of the greatest German novelists of the 20th century. He is renowned for his profound psychological portrayals and philosophical reflections in his works.

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Famous Robert Musil Quotes

“... the novel is called upon like no other art form to incorporate the intellectual content of an age.”

Art Age Form Literature Novel Intellectual

Book:Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses

Source: Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses

“Is not art a tool we employ to peel the kitsch off life? Layer by layer art strips life bare. The more abstract it gets, the more transparent the air is. Can it be that the farther it is removed from life, the clearer art becomes?”

Art Air Art Is Tools Abstract Layers Transparent Kitsch

Author:Robert Musil

“Layer by layer art strips life bare.”

Art Layers

Book:Posthumous Papers of a Living Author

Source: Posthumous Papers of a Living Author

“His answers were quite often like that. When she spoke of beauty, he spoke of the fatty tissue supporting the epidermis. When she mentioned love, he responded with the statistical curve that indicates the automatic rise and fall in the annual birthrate. When she spoke of the great figures in art, he traced the chain of borrowings that links these figures to one another.”

Art Fall Answers Figures Chains Spokes Links Curves Borrowing Tissues Annuals Rise And Fall Fatty

Book:The Man Without Qualities: Picador Classic

Source: The Man Without Qualities: Picador Classic

“The thought came to me that all one loves in art becomes beautiful. Beauty is nothing but the expression of the fact that something is being loved. Only thus could she be defined.”

Art Facts Beautiful Expression Art Is Defined One Love Being Loved

Author:Robert Musil

“Don't you know that every perfect life would be the end of art?”

Knows Mean Art Ends Perfect Perfect Life

Author:Robert Musil

“To love something as an artist ... means to be shaken not by its ultimate value or lack of value, but by a side of it that suddenly opens up. Where art has value it shows things that few have seen. It's conquering, not pacifying.”

Mean Art Shows Artist Values Sides Ultimate Conquer

Author:Robert Musil

About the Author

Born: November 6, 1880
Died: April 15, 1942
Known for: Writer
Quotes: 112

Books & Sources

the Man Without QualitiesRelated source material

Precision and Soul: Essays and AddressesRelated source material

The Man Without Qualities: Picador ClassicRelated source material

Posthumous Papers of a Living AuthorRelated source material

The Man Without Qualities: Volume IRelated source material

Five WomenRelated source material

The Confusions of Young TörlessRelated source material

Der Mann ohne EigenschaftenRelated source material

Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften: Erstes BuchRelated source material

Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings TörleßRelated source material

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