--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great artist is one whom constraint…" description: "\"The great artist is one whom constraint exalts, for whom the obstacle is a springboard.\" — Andre Gide" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/andre-gide-790_art_the-great-artist-is-one-whom-constraint_1978411.png" --- # The great artist is one whom constraint exalts, for whom… ![“The great artist is one whom constraint exalts, for whom the obstacle is a springboard.” quote by Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/andre-gide-790_art_the-great-artist-is-one-whom-constraint_1978411.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/andre-gide-790_art_the-great-artist-is-one-whom-constraint_1978411.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/andre-gide-790_art_the-great-artist-is-one-whom-constraint_1978411.png) > “The great artist is one whom constraint exalts, for whom the obstacle is a springboard.” [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Constraints can inspire creativity, turning obstacles into opportunities. **In simple terms:** Limits can spark creativity. Key Takeaway Use obstacles as creative springboards. Themes creativity constraint growth Mood motivational optimistic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artistic projects - business challenges - personal goals Key Concepts philosophy innovation Questions to Reflect On - What obstacle has become your biggest inspiration? - How do you reframe limits as opportunities? A Different Perspective Too much constraint may stifle freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Great artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artist/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Obstacle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacle/) [Obstacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacles/) [Springboards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/springboards/) ## Related quotes > [I wouldn’t want to be labelled unless it was something much broader and inclusive such as an ecological artist or a visionary artist, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolee-schneemann/i-wouldn-t-want-to-be-labelled-unless-it-was-something-much-broader/) [Carolee Schneemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolee-schneemann/) > [My springboard is always the script. Even if the script is taken from a novel, I often haven't read the novel...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hurt/my-springboard-is-always-the-script-even-if-the-script-is-taken-from/) [John Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hurt/) > [Rosie Grier was the springboard to the return of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carlos/rosie-grier-was-the-springboard-to-the-return-of-my-life/) [John Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carlos/) > [Your company should act as a springboard for ambitious employees, not a set of shackles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/your-company-should-act-as-a-springboard-for-ambitious-employees-not/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Expectation is the springboard of achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ngaio-marsh/expectation-is-the-springboard-of-achievement/) [Ngaio Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ngaio-marsh/) > [Knowing a lot...is a springboard to creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-rose/knowing-a-lot-is-a-springboard-to-creativity/) [Charlie Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-rose/) > [The events between 1968 and 1980 were the kind of cornerstone for everything I've been able to do, they gave me the springboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/the-events-between-1968-and-1980-were-the-kind-of-cornerstone-for/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [Tradition matters. To me it's not a limiting force; it's a springboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/tradition-matters-to-me-it-s-not-a-limiting-force-it-s-a-springboard/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [Nature is my springboard. From her I get my initial impetus. I have tried to relate the visible drama of mountains, trees, and bleached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-avery/nature-is-my-springboard-from-her-i-get-my-initial-impetus-i-have/) [Milton Avery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-avery/) > [“All I’m saying is that the past is nothing but a springboard for the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/all-i-m-saying-is-that-the-past-is-nothing-but-a-springboard-for-the/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The springboard for your success is between your ears.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-sorenson/the-springboard-for-your-success-is-between-your-ears/) [Toni Sorenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-sorenson/) > [I heard about Kay Koplovitz from a former colleague who was a part of Springboard Enterprises. I knew that my friend was doing well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randi-zuckerberg/i-heard-about-kay-koplovitz-from-a-former-colleague-who-was-a-part-of/) [Randi Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randi-zuckerberg/) > [Juilliard's mission statement is learn about the classics so you can use that as a springboard to anything that comes your way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-breaker/juilliard-s-mission-statement-is-learn-about-the-classics-so-you-can/) [Daniel Breaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-breaker/) > [Diving is cool to watch. Springboard or platform - it doesn't matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-korver/diving-is-cool-to-watch-springboard-or-platform-it-doesn-t-matter/) [Kyle Korver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-korver/) > [“our chances of having fun and being brilliant are higher when we’re using at least one of our strengths as a springboard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-webb/our-chances-of-having-fun-and-being-brilliant-are-higher-when-we-re/) [Caroline Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-webb/) ## More by Andre Gide > [Without mysticism man can achieve nothing great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/without-mysticism-man-can-achieve-nothing-great/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“The things one feels are different about oneself are the things that are rare, that give each person their value - and these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/the-things-one-feels-are-different-about-oneself-are-the-things-that/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [I believe that in every circumstance I have been able to see rather clearly the most advantageous course I could follow, which is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/i-believe-that-in-every-circumstance-i-have-been-able-to-see-rather/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Know thyself. A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever studies himself arrest his own development. A caterpillar who seeks to know himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/know-thyself-a-maxim-as-pernicious-as-it-is-ugly-whoever-studies/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“There is a germ of revolt lying in the spirit of inquiry and critical curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/there-is-a-germ-of-revolt-lying-in-the-spirit-of-inquiry-and-critical/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Oh, would that my mind could let fall its dead ideas, as the tree does its withered leaves!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/oh-would-that-my-mind-could-let-fall-its-dead-ideas-as-the-tree-does/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [God lies ahead. I convince myself and constantly repeat to myself that: He depends on us. It is through us that God is achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/god-lies-ahead-i-convince-myself-and-constantly-repeat-to-myself-that/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“Welcome everything that comes to you, but do not long for anything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/welcome-everything-that-comes-to-you-but-do-not-long-for-anything-else/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [There are many things that seem impossible only so long as one does not attempt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/there-are-many-things-that-seem-impossible-only-so-long-as-one-does/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Envying another man's happiness is madness; you wouldn't know what to do with it if you had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/envying-another-man-s-happiness-is-madness-you-wouldn-t-know-what-to/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [So long as we live among men, let us cherish humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/so-long-as-we-live-among-men-let-us-cherish-humanity/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [It is one of life's laws that as soon as one door closes another opens. But the tragedy is we look at the closed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/it-is-one-of-life-s-laws-that-as-soon-as-one-door-closes-another/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“What would a narrative of happiness be like? All that can be described is what prepares it, and then what destroys it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/what-would-a-narrative-of-happiness-be-like-all-that-can-be-described/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [It is with noble sentiments that bad literature gets written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/it-is-with-noble-sentiments-that-bad-literature-gets-written/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“C'est dans l'extraordinaire que je me sens le plus naturel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/c-est-dans-l-extraordinaire-que-je-me-sens-le-plus-naturel/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) [Explore all 304 Andre Gide quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) ## 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": "The great artist is one whom constraint exalts, for whom the obstacle is a springboard.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andre Gide" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/the-great-artist-is-one-whom-constraint-exalts-for-whom-the-obstacle/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/the-great-artist-is-one-whom-constraint-exalts-for-whom-the-obstacle/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/andre-gide-790_art_the-great-artist-is-one-whom-constraint_1978411.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/andre-gide-790_art_the-great-artist-is-one-whom-constraint_1978411.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/andre-gide-790_art_the-great-artist-is-one-whom-constraint_1978411.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The great artist is one whom constraint exalts, for whom the obstacle is a springboard.” — Andre Gide", "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": "Andre Gide", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The great artist is one whom...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/the-great-artist-is-one-whom-constraint-exalts-for-whom-the-obstacle/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/the-great-artist-is-one-whom-constraint-exalts-for-whom-the-obstacle/#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 } } ] } ```