--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are only four great arts: music…" description: "\"“There are only four great arts: music, painting, sculpture, and ornamental pastry - architecture being the least banal derivative of the latter.”\" — E..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/edith-wharton-512_art_there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-pai_887111.png" --- # There are only four great arts: music, painting… ![“There are only four great arts: music, painting, sculpture, and ornamental pastry - architecture being the least banal derivative of the latter.” quote by Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/edith-wharton-512_art_there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-pai_887111.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/edith-wharton-512_art_there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-pai_887111.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/edith-wharton-512_art_there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-pai_887111.png) > ““There are only four great arts: music, painting, sculpture, and ornamental pastry - architecture being the least banal derivative of the latter.”” [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She ranks arts, noting architecture as a derivative of decorative arts. **In simple terms:** Architecture derives from decorative arts. Key Takeaway Appreciate the hierarchy of creative fields. Themes art creativity hierarchy Mood analytical thoughtful Type literary critical When to use this quote - education - career choice - art criticism Key Concepts aesthetics design theory Questions to Reflect On - How does architecture influence daily life? - Can decorative arts inspire functional design? A Different Perspective May dismiss architecture's originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Arts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arts/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) ## Related quotes > [There are only four great arts: music, painting, sculpture, and ornamental pastry- architecture being perhaps the least banal derivative of the latter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-painting-sculpture-and/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [Of all the arts, music is really the most abstract.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-ornstein/of-all-the-arts-music-is-really-the-most-abstract/) [Leo Ornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-ornstein/) > [Waiting is one of the great arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-allingham/waiting-is-one-of-the-great-arts/) [Margery Allingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-allingham/) > [That's what's great about the arts. Everything inspires you, and you get a chance to grow from watching other people and how they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-foxx/that-s-what-s-great-about-the-arts-everything-inspires-you-and-you/) [Jamie Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-foxx/) > [I was really interested in how a health care center could also be a center for the arts and for music, and for bringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-was-really-interested-in-how-a-health-care-center-could-also-be-a/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Look out! Be on your guard, because alone of all the arts, music moves all around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/look-out-be-on-your-guard-because-alone-of-all-the-arts-music-moves/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I've always been involved in the visual arts and music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-jones/i-ve-always-been-involved-in-the-visual-arts-and-music/) [Adam Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-jones/) > [And this is the origin of pop music: it's a professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/and-this-is-the-origin-of-pop-music-it-s-a-professional-music-which/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Of all the arts, music is the one communal art. It requires for its existence extensive cooperation and organization...Singing together the greatest choral music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgard-varese/of-all-the-arts-music-is-the-one-communal-art-it-requires-for-its/) [Edgard Varese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgard-varese/) > [“It was held that the six great arts – visual art (including architecture and photography), drama, dance, music, film and literature – form a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abbs/it-was-held-that-the-six-great-arts-visual-art-including-architecture/) Peter Abbs > [We need more math classes, we need more science. It's the art of math and the art of science that creates all the innovation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/we-need-more-math-classes-we-need-more-science-it-s-the-art-of-math/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [France, famed in all great arts, in none supreme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/france-famed-in-all-great-arts-in-none-supreme/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [In all great arts, as in trees, it is the height that charms us; we care nothing for the roots or trunks, yet it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/in-all-great-arts-as-in-trees-it-is-the-height-that-charms-us-we-care/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [I grew up in New York, and I grew up with a mother who was an arts lover herself, and I went to these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merritt-wever/i-grew-up-in-new-york-and-i-grew-up-with-a-mother-who-was-an-arts/) [Merritt Wever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merritt-wever/) > [That's the great part about arts - someone taking your work and making it something else; it's becomes a true collaboration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-minchin/that-s-the-great-part-about-arts-someone-taking-your-work-and-making/) [Tim Minchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-minchin/) ## More by Edith Wharton > [“Suddenly the air was full of that deep clangor of bells which periodically covers Rome with a roof of silver.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/suddenly-the-air-was-full-of-that-deep-clangor-of-bells-which/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile. And he felt himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/untrained-human-nature-was-not-frank-and-innocent-it-was-full-of-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“High Pasture Come up--come up: in the dim vale below The autumn mist muffles the fading trees, But on this keen hill-pasture, though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/high-pasture-come-up-come-up-in-the-dim-vale-below-the-autumn-mist/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Two ways to be a light for all, is to be a flaming candle or the mirror that reflects it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/two-ways-to-be-a-light-for-all-is-to-be-a-flaming-candle-or-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“... no treasure-house of Atreus was ever as rich as a well-stored memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/no-treasure-house-of-atreus-was-ever-as-rich-as-a-well-stored-memory/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“...the endless labour of rolling human stupidity up the steep hill of understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-endless-labour-of-rolling-human-stupidity-up-the-steep-hill-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material and social interests held together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of-the-other-marriages-about/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-real-loneliness-is-living-among-all-these-kind-people-who-only/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [With a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/with-a-shiver-of-foreboding-he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Life is the saddest thing there is, next to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/life-is-the-saddest-thing-there-is-next-to-death/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/a-classic-is-classic-not-because-it-conforms-to-certain-structural/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [There is too much sour grapes for my taste in the present American attitude. The time to denounce the bankers was when we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-is-too-much-sour-grapes-for-my-taste-in-the-present-american/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“But in a few years more perhaps there may be; for, deep within us as the ghost instinct lurks, I seem to see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/but-in-a-few-years-more-perhaps-there-may-be-for-deep-within-us-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Dialogue in fiction should be reserved for the culminating moments and regarded as the spray into which the great wave of narrative breaks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/dialogue-in-fiction-should-be-reserved-for-the-culminating-moments/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“These Americans, under their forthcoming manner, their surface-gush, as some might call it, have an odd reticence about what goes on underneath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/these-americans-under-their-forthcoming-manner-their-surface-gush-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) [Explore all 504 Edith Wharton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## 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": "“There are only four great arts: music, painting, sculpture, and ornamental pastry - architecture being the least banal derivative of the latter.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edith Wharton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-painting-sculpture-and-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-painting-sculpture-and-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/edith-wharton-512_art_there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-pai_887111.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/edith-wharton-512_art_there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-pai_887111.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/edith-wharton-512_art_there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-pai_887111.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are only four great arts: music, painting, sculpture, and ornamental pastry - architecture being the…” — Edith Wharton", "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": "Edith Wharton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There are only four great arts:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-painting-sculpture-and-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-painting-sculpture-and-2/#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 } } ] } ```