--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A work of art that contains theories is…" description: "\"A work of art that contains theories is like an object on which the price tag has been left.\" — Alexander Pope" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/alexander-pope-235_art_a-work-of-art-that-contains-theories-is_2662977.png" --- # A work of art that contains theories is like an object on… ![“A work of art that contains theories is like an object on which the price tag has been left.” quote by Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/alexander-pope-235_art_a-work-of-art-that-contains-theories-is_2662977.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/alexander-pope-235_art_a-work-of-art-that-contains-theories-is_2662977.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/alexander-pope-235_art_a-work-of-art-that-contains-theories-is_2662977.png) > “A work of art that contains theories is like an object on which the price tag has been left.” [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas without substance are as meaningless as a price tag on an object without value. **In simple terms:** Ideas need depth, not just labels. Key Takeaway Seek depth over superficial labels. Themes philosophy art value Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - marketing - art criticism - product design - academic discourse Key Concepts aesthetic theory materialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess true value beyond price? - Can a work be valuable without theory? A Different Perspective Depth cannot be faked; substance matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Price tag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/price-tag/) [Theories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theories/) ## Related quotes > [“A work in which there are theories is like an object which still has its price-tag on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-work-in-which-there-are-theories-is-like-an-object-which-still-has/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [A work in which there are theories is like an object which still has the ticket that shows its price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-work-in-which-there-are-theories-is-like-an-object-which-still-has-2/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [We can invent as many theories we like, and any one of them can be made to fit the facts. But that theory is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/we-can-invent-as-many-theories-we-like-and-any-one-of-them-can-be/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Theories are like patches on a coat, one day they just wear off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sogyal-rinpoche/theories-are-like-patches-on-a-coat-one-day-they-just-wear-off/) [Sogyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sogyal-rinpoche/) > [Theories are like scaffolding: they are not the house, but you cannot build the house without them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-fenimore-woolson/theories-are-like-scaffolding-they-are-not-the-house-but-you-cannot/) [Constance Fenimore Woolson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-fenimore-woolson/) > [Neither camera, nor lens, nor film determine the quality of pictures; it is the visual perception of the man behind the mechanism which brings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-gernsheim/neither-camera-nor-lens-nor-film-determine-the-quality-of-pictures-it/) [Helmut Gernsheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-gernsheim/) > [All great art contains an element of the irrational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/all-great-art-contains-an-element-of-the-irrational/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [“A soldier's body is a work of art that contains his country's history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mendelsohn/a-soldier-s-body-is-a-work-of-art-that-contains-his-country-s-history/) [Jane Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mendelsohn/) > [There are many, many art worlds. Art contains multitudes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/there-are-many-many-art-worlds-art-contains-multitudes/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [A work of art contains its verification in itself: artificial, strained concepts do not withstand the test of being turned into images; they fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/a-work-of-art-contains-its-verification-in-itself-artificial-strained/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Theories are like a stairway; by climbing, science widens its horizon more and more, because theories embody and necessarily include proportionately more facts as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/theories-are-like-a-stairway-by-climbing-science-widens-its-horizon/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [“If he goes after Sophia's father right after the divorce, then everybody knows he's whacked out over it." She'd spent some time analyzing it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/if-he-goes-after-sophia-s-father-right-after-the-divorce-then/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [In some way, my fundamental feeling about music is that it's impossible to put a price tag on it. Human beings made music before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/in-some-way-my-fundamental-feeling-about-music-is-that-it-s/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [“When someone sees something old they think it’s worth more than something new.” I’ll give them that. The history, imagining who might have stood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-rubart/when-someone-sees-something-old-they-think-it-s-worth-more-than/) [James L. Rubart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-rubart/) > [“I’m not sure how the ponies happened, though I have an inkling: “Can I get you anything?” I’ll say, getting up from a dinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-m-not-sure-how-the-ponies-happened-though-i-have-an-inkling-can-i/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) ## More by Alexander Pope > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [To wake the soul by tender strokes of art, To raise the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind, in conscious virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-wake-the-soul-by-tender-strokes-of-art-to-raise-the-genius-and-to/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [A mighty maze! But not without a plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-mighty-maze-but-not-without-a-plan/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Let such teach others who themselves excel, And censure freely who have written well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/let-such-teach-others-who-themselves-excel-and-censure-freely-who/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [For I, who hold sage Homer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/for-i-who-hold-sage-homer-s-rule-the-best-welcome-the-coming-speed/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Like following life through creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/like-following-life-through-creatures-you-dissect-you-lose-it-in-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [When two people compliment each other with the choice of anything, each of them generally gets that which he likes least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/when-two-people-compliment-each-other-with-the-choice-of-anything/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Such labour'd nothings, in so strange a style, Amaze th' unlearn'd and make the learned smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/such-labour-d-nothings-in-so-strange-a-style-amaze-th-unlearn-d-and/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/charms-strike-the-sight-but-merit-wins-the-soul/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I am satisfied to trifle away my time, rather than let it stick by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/i-am-satisfied-to-trifle-away-my-time-rather-than-let-it-stick-by-me/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The greatest advantage I know of being thought a wit by the world is, that it gives one the greater freedom of playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-greatest-advantage-i-know-of-being-thought-a-wit-by-the-world-is/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Then say not Man's imperfect,Heav'n in fault; Say rather, Man's as perfect ashe ought:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/then-say-not-man-s-imperfect-heav-n-in-fault-say-rather-man-s-as/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [First follow Nature, and your judgment frame By her just standard, which is still the same: Unerring nature, still divinely bright, One clear, unchanged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/first-follow-nature-and-your-judgment-frame-by-her-just-standard/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Who shall decide when doctors disagree, And soundest casuists doubt, like you and me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/who-shall-decide-when-doctors-disagree-and-soundest-casuists-doubt/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) [Explore all 850 Alexander Pope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A work of art that contains theories is like an object on which the price tag has been left.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander Pope" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-work-of-art-that-contains-theories-is-like-an-object-on-which-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-work-of-art-that-contains-theories-is-like-an-object-on-which-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/alexander-pope-235_art_a-work-of-art-that-contains-theories-is_2662977.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/alexander-pope-235_art_a-work-of-art-that-contains-theories-is_2662977.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/alexander-pope-235_art_a-work-of-art-that-contains-theories-is_2662977.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A work of art that contains theories is like an object on which the price tag has been left.” — Alexander Pope", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexander Pope", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A work of art that contains...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-work-of-art-that-contains-theories-is-like-an-object-on-which-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-work-of-art-that-contains-theories-is-like-an-object-on-which-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```