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
Similar quotes
In the course of our daily lives, we're bombarded with a barrage of visual messages, some blatantly aggressive, some subtle. The trick is to find a way to break through without adding to the clutter and the ugliness. We have to be responsible about that.
Saul BassRead
When you're a kid and you're trying to find your own voice, it's rather daunting to hear somebody like Howlin' Wolf, because you know that you'll never achieve that.
Tom WaitsRead
When I started working on ambient music, my idea was to make music that was more like painting.
Brian EnoRead
My style says, 'Look at me, don't look at me.'
Patti SmithRead
And for the first time in hundreds of years, the night came alive with the music of dragons.
George R. R. MartinRead
In the traditional Islamic world, the hierarchy of the arts was not based on whether they were "fine" or "industrial" or "minor". It was based upon the effect of art on the soul of the human being.
Seyyed Hossein NasrRead