Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.
John RuskinRead
I have seen, and heard, much of Cockney impudence before now; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public's face.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote criticizes the audacity of an artist pricing their work absurdly high for what the author perceives as a trivial act.
John Ruskin's quote highlights the tension between the value of art and the perception of artistic merit. He expresses disdain for the commercialization of art, particularly when it seems to lack substance or skill, using the example of an artist demanding a high price for what he considers a simplistic or frivolous act of throwing paint. This reflects a broader critique of how society often values art based on market trends rather than genuine artistic expression.
Themes
ArtValueCritiqueCommercializationCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the importance of genuine artistic expression, I quoted John Ruskin to emphasize the pitfalls of commercialization in art.
More from John Ruskin
All quotes →In health of mind and body, men should see with their own eyes, hear and speak without trumpets, walk on their feet, not on wheels, and work and war with their arms, not with engine-beams, nor rifles warranted to kill twenty men at a shot before you can see them.
John RuskinRead
You talk of the scythe of Time, and the tooth of Time: I tell you, Time is scytheless and toothless; it is we who gnaw like the worm - we who smite like the scythe. It is ourselves who abolish - ourselves who consume: we are the mildew, and the flame.
John RuskinRead
To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered.
John RuskinRead
See that your children be taught, not only the labors of the earth, but the loveliness of it.
John RuskinRead
A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.
John RuskinRead
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