Art Quote by Edmond de Goncourt
“A painting in a museum hears more ridiculous opinions than anything else in the world.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Art of the Novel, Edmond de Goncourt, 1868
Art often attracts extreme and varied judgments that outweigh its intrinsic value.
In simple terms: People judge art wildly.
Key Takeaway
Consider the context before judging art.
Themes
art criticism
subjectivity
culture
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
observational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- museum visits
- art education
- online reviews
- public debates
Key Concepts
aesthetic theory
social perception
Questions to Reflect On
- Why do we focus on extremes rather than nuance?
- How does context shape our view of art?
A Different Perspective
Artistic value may be obscured by sensational opinions.
![“I think, at the L.A. County Museum of Art, I saw my first example of Kerry James Marshall, who had a very sort of heroic, oversized painting of black men in a barbershop. But it was painted on the same level and with the same urgency that you would see in a grand-scale [Anthony] van Dyck or…” quote by Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a08/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_i-think-at-the-l-a-county-museum-of-art_1563358.jpg)
![“[He] went on to say that during all those years he had done nothing at all, that all he had felt had been a need to live, to live actively, violently, noisily, a need to sing, to make music, to roam the woods, to drink a little too much and get involved in a brawl.” quote by Edmond De Goncourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3e1/edmond-de-goncourt-19675_life_he-went-on-to-say-that-during-all-those_436609.jpg)
