--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Artists know failure. It is not tragic…" description: "\"Artists know failure. It is not tragic that they know failure; it is only tragic if they know failure and little else...\" — Eric Maisel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/eric-maisel-3062_art_artists-know-failure-it-is-not-tragic-th_638755.png" --- # Artists know failure. It is not tragic that they know… ![“Artists know failure. It is not tragic that they know failure; it is only tragic if they know failure and little else...” quote by Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/eric-maisel-3062_art_artists-know-failure-it-is-not-tragic-th_638755.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/eric-maisel-3062_art_artists-know-failure-it-is-not-tragic-th_638755.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/eric-maisel-3062_art_artists-know-failure-it-is-not-tragic-th_638755.png) > “Artists know failure. It is not tragic that they know failure; it is only tragic if they know failure and little else...” [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists accept failure as a necessary part of creation; tragedy lies in knowing failure without learning or growth. **In simple terms:** Failure is okay if you learn from it. Key Takeaway Embrace failure, keep learning. Themes creativity resilience growth Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - creative projects - entrepreneurship - personal development Key Concepts artist mindset learning from mistakes Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn failure into a lesson? - What does “little else” mean to you? A Different Perspective Knowing failure alone can paralyze action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Tragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragic/) ## Related quotes > [If the thing you wish to do is right, and YOU BELIEVE IN IT, go ahead and do it! Put your dreams across, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/if-the-thing-you-wish-to-do-is-right-and-you-believe-in-it-go-ahead/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/do-not-fear-mistakes-you-will-know-failure-continue-to-reach-out/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The only person who needs to know about failure is yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-connolly/the-only-person-who-needs-to-know-about-failure-is-yourself/) [John Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-connolly/) > [I know I'm not pretty, I know I'm not nice, I know I'm not someone who's got the prettiest eyes. I know I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-i-m-not-pretty-i-know-i-m-not-nice-i-know-i-m-not-someone-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am a born fighter who does not know failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/i-am-a-born-fighter-who-does-not-know-failure/) [KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/) > [“Success is most often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/success-is-most-often-achieved-by-those-who-don-t-know-that-failure/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [I've failed a lot, you know, in football, and I've gone on a lot of auditions, been told no, been told I'm not right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-david-washington/i-ve-failed-a-lot-you-know-in-football-and-i-ve-gone-on-a-lot-of/) [John David Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-david-washington/) > [“Focus only on your successes and you will never know failure...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/focus-only-on-your-successes-and-you-will-never-know-failure/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [What is failure? We can’t possibly know what failure is. Most people think they do, but that’s because they’re judging how their lives should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/what-is-failure-we-can-t-possibly-know-what-failure-is-most-people/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [You know, failure hurts. Any kind of failure stings. If you live in the sting, you will - undoubtedly - fail. My way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/you-know-failure-hurts-any-kind-of-failure-stings-if-you-live-in-the/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [I know that there is failure, but if you're prepared, you can accept whatever happens in the ring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-parker/i-know-that-there-is-failure-but-if-you-re-prepared-you-can-accept/) [Joseph Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-parker/) > [“It is what is. I repeated, looking at him in the eyes. No. It isn't. That's stupidity right up there with 'failure is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-hanagarne/it-is-what-is-i-repeated-looking-at-him-in-the-eyes-no-it-isn-t-that/) [Josh Hanagarne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-hanagarne/) > [I don't think there's any way it could have failed. We don't know failure in this band. We didn't know failure. We got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-daltrey/i-don-t-think-there-s-any-way-it-could-have-failed-we-don-t-know/) [Roger Daltrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-daltrey/) > [You know that failure prelude to being the victim of what is criminally wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/you-know-that-failure-prelude-to-being-the-victim-of-what-is/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [... the truth is that when your people don't tell you what you need to know, it's a failure of leadership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/the-truth-is-that-when-your-people-don-t-tell-you-what-you-need-to/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) ## More by Eric Maisel > [Affirmations need to be used if they are to become incorporated into the fabric of your being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/affirmations-need-to-be-used-if-they-are-to-become-incorporated-into/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [The wise artist makes peace with the fact that he will understand less than he had anticipated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/the-wise-artist-makes-peace-with-the-fact-that-he-will-understand/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [Creativity requires introspection, self-examination, and a willingness to take risks. Because of this, artists are perhaps more susceptible to self-doubt and despair than those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/creativity-requires-introspection-self-examination-and-a-willingness/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [You can't plan in advance for everything - every mood swing, every mistake you might make in execution, every shift in your circumstances. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/you-can-t-plan-in-advance-for-everything-every-mood-swing-every/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [It is in an artist's real interest to congratulate herself more often: not out of narcissism, but in her role as her own dear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/it-is-in-an-artist-s-real-interest-to-congratulate-herself-more-often/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [“What if you can't help but judge life negatively? 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If you hold that it is outside of yourself and must be tracked down, you have one idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/how-you-conceptualize-meaning-matters-if-you-hold-that-it-is-outside/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [Artists have wild desires and a terrible hunger to achieve... Without it they haven't the juice for striving or loving. But desire also can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/artists-have-wild-desires-and-a-terrible-hunger-to-achieve-without-it/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [If you bring your sexual impulses to your creative work... you'll be working from deep in the genetic code, down where life wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/if-you-bring-your-sexual-impulses-to-your-creative-work-you-ll-be/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [The artist is a god, but he is also an idiot. That is the human way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/the-artist-is-a-god-but-he-is-also-an-idiot-that-is-the-human-way/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [It goes against an artist's grain to retire. But whether he retires or not, he will age... What work will get done in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/it-goes-against-an-artist-s-grain-to-retire-but-whether-he-retires-or/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [Boredom is the thing that regularly arrives between excitements and episodes of meaning: it is as natural as the tides, and in it an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/boredom-is-the-thing-that-regularly-arrives-between-excitements-and/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [The middle way cannot be achieved by dividing two extremes in half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/the-middle-way-cannot-be-achieved-by-dividing-two-extremes-in-half/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) [Explore all 141 Eric Maisel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) ## 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": "Artists know failure. 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