QuoteProject
A work of art is good if it has arisen out of necessity. That is the only way one can judge it.
Rainer Maria Rilke
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Art is valuable when it is created from a deep need or necessity.

Rainer Maria Rilke suggests that the true worth of a work of art is determined by the sincerity and necessity behind its creation. If an artist creates something essential to their expression, it resonates more profoundly and authentically with viewers, making it a significant piece of art.

Themes

ArtNecessityCreativityExpressionAuthenticity

In practice

Example use cases

During an art class, a teacher might use this quote to inspire students to create from their emotions.

More from Rainer Maria Rilke

Spring has again returned. _x000D_ _x000D_ The Earth is like a child that knows many poems._x000D_ _x000D_ Many, O so many. For the hardship_x000D_ _x000D_ of such long learning she receives the prize._x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ Strict was her teacher. _x000D_ _x000D_ The white in the old man's beard pleases us._x000D_ _x000D_ Now, what to call green, to call blue,_x000D_ _x000D_ we dare to ask: She knows, She knows!
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
Verses are not, as people think, feelings (those one has early enough) -- they are experiences. For the sake of a verse one must see many cities, men, and things, one must know the animals feel how birds fly, and know the gesture with which the little flowers open in the morning.
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
a good marriage is that in which each appoints the other guardian of his solitude
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
He reproduced himself with so much humble objectivity, with the unquestioning, matter of fact interest of a dog who sees himself in a mirror and thinks: there's another dog.
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
The only journey is the one within.
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been
Rainer Maria RilkeRead

Similar quotes

I haven't changed my mind about modernism from the first day I ever did it... It means integrity; it means honesty; it means the absence of sentimentality and the absence of nostalgia; it means simplicity; it means clarity. That's what modernism means to me.
Paul RandRead
Mention the gothic, and many readers will probably picture gloomy castles and an assortment of sinister Victoriana. However, the truth is that the gothic genre has continued to flourish and evolve since the days of Bram Stoker, producing some of its most interesting and accomplished examples in the 20th century - in literature, film and beyond.
Carlos Ruiz ZafonRead
[People] want me to finish things. But I see them in such a way and paint them accordingly. ... Nothing is simpler than to complete pictures in a superficial sense. Never does one lie so cleverly as then.
Henri De Toulouse-LautrecRead
I don't want the money. I don't want the drama. I just want to do my show. I want to have fun again.
Dave ChappelleRead
A movie camera is like having someone you have a crush on watching you from afar - you pretend it's not there.
Tom StoppardRead
When I realised that what I do really well is play women who are tough and vulnerable, it was a moment of clarity. Many female characters either have one trait or the other, but I play both. I don't need to play characters who are like me. I can just do that with my life.
Carrie-Anne MossRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.