--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For every good art critic there may be…" description: "\"For every good art critic there may be ten great artists.\" — Clement Greenberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/clement-greenberg-16776_art_for-every-good-art-critic-there-may-be-t_610325.jpg" --- # For every good art critic there may be ten great artists. ![“For every good art critic there may be ten great artists.” quote by Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/clement-greenberg-16776_art_for-every-good-art-critic-there-may-be-t_610325.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/clement-greenberg-16776_art_for-every-good-art-critic-there-may-be-t_610325.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/clement-greenberg-16776_art_for-every-good-art-critic-there-may-be-t_610325.jpg) > “For every good art critic there may be ten great artists.” [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights that critics often praise many works, but only a few artists achieve true greatness. **In simple terms:** Critics praise many; only few are truly great. Key Takeaway Recognize the difference between critique and genuine talent. Themes art criticism talent evaluation Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - gallery curation - art education - collecting - media reviews Key Concepts aesthetic theory cultural value Questions to Reflect On - How do we identify truly great artists? - What role should critics play in art? A Different Perspective Critics may be biased or misinformed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art critic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-critic/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Good art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-art/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Great artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artist/) [Great Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artists/) ## Related quotes > [Ultimately, it comes down to taste. It comes down to trying to expose yourself to the best things that humans have done and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/ultimately-it-comes-down-to-taste-it-comes-down-to-trying-to-expose/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Good artists copy, great artists steal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Picasso had a saying - 'good artists copy, great artists steal' - and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/picasso-had-a-saying-good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal-and-we/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [Bad artists ignore the darkness of human existence. Good artists often get stuck there. Great artists embrace the full catastrophe of our condition and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bad-artists-ignore-the-darkness-of-human-existence-good-artists-often/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm doing what great artists before me did, like Judy Garland, Sammy Davis, Eddie Cantor. I'm doing what they were doing, not at their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-m-doing-what-great-artists-before-me-did-like-judy-garland-sammy/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If you look at how great artists of the past, like Beethoven, for example dealt with art and morality, you see that there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/if-you-look-at-how-great-artists-of-the-past-like-beethoven-for/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I don't care about being remembered. I'm not a wonderful writer or anything. This should be reserved for people who really did something great.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-franco/i-don-t-care-about-being-remembered-i-m-not-a-wonderful-writer-or/) [Jesus Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-franco/) > [I think we need great artists making great work - women, men, whoever. I think what's great about TV now is there are so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-think-we-need-great-artists-making-great-work-women-men-whoever-i/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [All great artists and thinkers are great workers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-great-artists-and-thinkers-are-great-workers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The great artists are those who impose their personal vision upon humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/the-great-artists-are-those-who-impose-their-personal-vision-upon/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [The bad artists imitate, the great artists steal,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/the-bad-artists-imitate-the-great-artists-steal/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) > [I really tried to work out hard to emulate the look and feel of the character, and did my best to represent the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cudmore/i-really-tried-to-work-out-hard-to-emulate-the-look-and-feel-of-the/) [Daniel Cudmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cudmore/) > [The lives great artists live and the books they write are two very different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/the-lives-great-artists-live-and-the-books-they-write-are-two-very/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [I cannot be convinced that great artists are moralists. Art is first appearances, then meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-cannot-be-convinced-that-great-artists-are-moralists-art-is-first/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [There are so many great artists, I think, who kind of suffer from being icons, legends, acknowledged masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/there-are-so-many-great-artists-i-think-who-kind-of-suffer-from-being/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) ## More by Clement Greenberg > [The avant-garde poet or artist tries in effect to imitate God by creating something valid solely on its own terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-avant-garde-poet-or-artist-tries-in-effect-to-imitate-god-by/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [The peasant finds no "natural" urgency within himself that will drive him toward Picasso in spite of all difficulties. In the end the peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-peasant-finds-no-natural-urgency-within-himself-that-will-drive/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [The paradox in the evolution of French painting from Courbet to Cezanne is how it was brought to the verge of abstraction in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-paradox-in-the-evolution-of-french-painting-from-courbet-to/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [It has become apparent that art can have a startling impact without really being or saying anything startling — or new. The character itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/it-has-become-apparent-that-art-can-have-a-startling-impact-without/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [Art is a matter strictly of experience, not of principles and what counts first and last in art is quality, all other things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/art-is-a-matter-strictly-of-experience-not-of-principles-and-what/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [Photography is the most transparent of the art mediums devised or discovered by man. It is probably for this reason that it proves so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/photography-is-the-most-transparent-of-the-art-mediums-devised-or/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [Where Picasso paints cause, Repin paints effect. Repin predigests art for the spectator and provides a short cut to the pleasure of art that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/where-picasso-paints-cause-repin-paints-effect-repin-predigests-art/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [The superior artist is the one who knows how to be influenced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-superior-artist-is-the-one-who-knows-how-to-be-influenced/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [A large picture can give us images of things, but a relatively small one can best re-create the instantaneous unity of nature as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/a-large-picture-can-give-us-images-of-things-but-a-relatively-small/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [The reality of art is disclosed only in experience, not in reflection upon experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-reality-of-art-is-disclosed-only-in-experience-not-in-reflection/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [You like it, that's all, whether it's a landscape or abstract. You like it. It hits you. You don't have to read it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/you-like-it-that-s-all-whether-it-s-a-landscape-or-abstract-you-like/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [Once efficiency is universally accepted as a rule, it becomes an inner compulsion and weighs like a sense of sin, simply because no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/once-efficiency-is-universally-accepted-as-a-rule-it-becomes-an-inner/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [Nothing could be further from the authentic art of our time than the idea of a rupture of continuity. Art is - among other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/nothing-could-be-further-from-the-authentic-art-of-our-time-than-the/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [The dissolution of the pictorial into sheer texture, into apparently sheer sensation, into an accumulation of repetitions, seems to speak for and answer something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-dissolution-of-the-pictorial-into-sheer-texture-into-apparently/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [One is also reminded of how, in art, the tortoise so often overtakes the hare...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/one-is-also-reminded-of-how-in-art-the-tortoise-so-often-overtakes/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) [Explore all 39 Clement Greenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) ## 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": "For every good art critic there may be ten great artists.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Clement Greenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/for-every-good-art-critic-there-may-be-ten-great-artists/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/for-every-good-art-critic-there-may-be-ten-great-artists/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/clement-greenberg-16776_art_for-every-good-art-critic-there-may-be-t_610325.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/clement-greenberg-16776_art_for-every-good-art-critic-there-may-be-t_610325.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/clement-greenberg-16776_art_for-every-good-art-critic-there-may-be-t_610325.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For every good art critic there may be ten great artists.” — Clement Greenberg", "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": "Clement Greenberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For every good art critic there...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/for-every-good-art-critic-there-may-be-ten-great-artists/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/for-every-good-art-critic-there-may-be-ten-great-artists/#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 } } ] } ```