'Search for the Real in the Visual Arts', p. 46
“

One must realize that, apart from considerations of color and form, there are two fundamentally different ways of regarding a medium of expression: one is based on taste only — an approach in which the external physical elements of expression are merely pleasingly arranged. This way results in decoration with no spiritual reaction. Arrangement is not art. The second way is based on the artist’s power of empathy, to feel the intrinsic qualities of the medium of expression. Through these qualities the medium comes to life.. .In this life, an intuitive artist discovers the emotive and vital substance which makes a work of art.

— Hans Hofmann

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "One must realize that, apart from considerations of color and form, there are two fundamentally different ways of regarding a medium of expression: one is based on taste only — an approach in which the external physical elements of expression are merely pleasingly arranged. This way results in decoration with no spiritual reaction. Arrangement is not art. The second way is based on the artist’s power of empathy, to feel the intrinsic qualities of the medium of expression. Through these qualities the medium comes to life.. .In this life, an intuitive artist discovers the emotive and vital substance which makes a work of art." in the context of "'Search for the Real in the Visual Arts', p. 46" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Hans Hofmann" (Quotes, 1940s, Search for the Real and Other Essays (1948): Quotes from: Search for the Real and Other Essays (1948) by Hans Hofmann, ed. Sara T. Weeks and Bartlett H. Hayes, Jr. Addison Gallery of American Art; (using M.I.T. Press edition (1967); (Partial online PDF)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Hans Hofmann

About Hans Hofmann

Hans Hofmann (21 March 1880 – 17 February 1966) was one of the older abstract expressionist painters working in New York. Hofmann originally came from Germany where he experienced the new art and so he connected European with modern American abstract art. He had strong influence as an art-teacher and writer on the younger American abstract artists after 1940.