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If the work is poor, the public taste will soon do it justice. And the author, reaping neither glory nor fortune, will learn by hard experience how to correct his mistakes.
Jacques-Louis David
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Poor quality work will ultimately be judged by the public, leading the creator to learn from their mistakes.

This quote by Jacques-Louis David emphasizes the idea that the quality of art or work will naturally be evaluated by the audience. If an artist creates something that does not resonate with the public, they will not receive praise or success, thus pushing them to reflect on their shortcomings and improve their craft through experience.

Themes

ArtPublic TasteMistakesExperienceImprovement

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about artistic integrity, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of quality in creative work.

More from Jacques-Louis David

In the arts the way in which an idea is rendered, and the manner in which it is expressed, is much more important than the idea itself.
Jacques-Louis DavidRead

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