I heard from a very reliable source that this exchange actually happened many moons ago (about 184,690 moons, actually):

Someone admiring the statue of David asked Michelangelo:
How did you see David in that block of marble?

Michelangelo’s response: I just took away the parts that weren’t David.

According to Squidoo, he actually said something a bit more poetic:
“‘In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.’—Michelangelo”

In case you aren’t remembering what an amazing work of art Michelangelo created, you can see some photos here. I didn’t know this before, but he was commissioned (in 1501) to create this statue at 26 years old. 26!

What a beautiful reminder that the essence of beauty is nothing more and nothing less than what it is. Simply beautiful.