QuoteProject
It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.
Voltaire
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Experiencing art goes beyond mere observation; it requires emotional engagement.

Voltaire emphasizes that true appreciation of art involves not just visual or intellectual recognition, but also an emotional connection that resonates deeply within us. This quote suggests that the value of art lies in its ability to evoke feelings and influence our perceptions, prompting us to engage with it on a more personal level.

Themes

ArtBeautyEmotionExperienceAppreciation

In practice

Example use cases

In a gallery talk about the importance of engaging with art emotionally.

More from Voltaire

Prejudices are what fools use for reason.
VoltaireRead
He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend; provided, of course, he really is dead.
VoltaireRead
It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.
VoltaireRead
We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies - it is the first law of nature.
VoltaireRead
It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.
VoltaireRead
If God did not exist, He would have to be invented. But all nature cries aloud that he does exist: that there is a supreme intelligence, an immense power, an admirable order, and everything teaches us our own dependence on it.
VoltaireRead

Similar quotes

I would rather dance as a ballerina, though faultily, than as a flawless clown.
Margaret AtwoodRead
Music represents nature. Nature represents life. Jazz represents nature. Jazz is life.
Sonny RollinsRead
Songs don't have to be about going out on Saturday night and having a good rink-up and driving home and crashing cars. A lot of what I've done is about alienation... about where you fit in society.
David BowieRead
The bartenders are the regular band of Jack, and the heavenly drummer who looks up to the sky with blue eyes, with a beard, is wailing beer-caps of bottles and jamming on the cash register and everything is going to the beat - It's the beat generation, its bΓ©at, it's the beat to keep, it's the beat of the heart, it's being beat and down in the world and like oldtime lowdown.
Jack KerouacRead
Designers don't live in a vacuum; they are not blind to what's going on. They, too, will be inspired by what they see, and that will come out in their work.
Anna WintourRead
When I was a bad writer, I would consciously imitate other NPR writers who I thought were wonderful. I suppose that everyone's artistic practice is different. But I collaborate and sometimes don't agree at all with my collaborators' opinions. It forces you to understand why you don't agree with something: what's the fight you're picking.
Ira GlassRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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