Art begins when a man, with a purpose of communicating to other people a feeling he once experienced, calls it up again within himself and expresses it by certain external signs.
Leo TolstoyRead
Art is a microscope which the artist fixes on the secrets of his soul, and shows to people these secrets which are common to all.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art allows artists to explore their innermost feelings and share universal truths with others.
In this quote, Tolstoy suggests that art serves as a powerful tool for self-exploration and communication. By using the metaphor of a microscope, he emphasizes how artists delve into the depths of their souls, revealing emotions and truths that resonate universally with the audience. This connection through art illustrates the shared human experience, making the artist's personal revelations significant to others.
Themes
ArtSoulSecretsCommunicationHuman Experience
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on creativity, one might say, 'As Tolstoy put it, art is a microscope revealing the secrets of our souls.'
More from Leo Tolstoy
All quotes βPierre looked into the sky, into the depths of the retreating, twinkling stars. "And all this is mine, and all this is in me, and all this is me!" thought Pierre. "And all this they've caught and put in a shed and boarded it up!
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People try to do all sorts of clever and difficult things to improve life instead of doing the simplest, easiest thing-refusing to participate in activities that make life bad.
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It's too easy to criticize a man when he's out of favour, and to make him shoulder the blame for everybody else's mistakes.
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Music is the shorthand of emotion. Emotions, which let themselves be described in words with such difficulty, are directly conveyed to man in music, and in that is its power and significance.
Leo TolstoyRead
A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor β such is my idea of happiness.
Leo TolstoyRead
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