"Picasso once remarked I do not care who it is that has or does influence me as long as it is not myself"

This quote by Gertrude Stein is a reflection of Picasso's mindset towards his own work. He believed that it was necessary to be available to the influence of others, but not to be influenced by himself. This recommends that Picasso knew the significance of having the ability to take a step back and take a look at his work objectively. He wanted to be able to take in the opinions of others and use them to improve his work, however he likewise wanted to avoid the threat of ending up being too connected to his own ideas and forgeting the bigger picture. This quote is a pointer that it is important to be available to the influence of others, but likewise to be familiar with the risks of becoming too attached to one's own concepts.