--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The artist is a god, but he is also an…" description: "\"The artist is a god, but he is also an idiot. That is the human way.\" — Eric Maisel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/eric-maisel-3062_art_the-artist-is-a-god-but-he-is-also-an-id_131665.png" --- # The artist is a god, but he is also an idiot. That is the… ![“The artist is a god, but he is also an idiot. That is the human way.” quote by Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/eric-maisel-3062_art_the-artist-is-a-god-but-he-is-also-an-id_131665.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/eric-maisel-3062_art_the-artist-is-a-god-but-he-is-also-an-id_131665.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/eric-maisel-3062_art_the-artist-is-a-god-but-he-is-also-an-id_131665.png) > “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/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists possess god‑like creativity but also human folly. **In simple terms:** Artists are powerful yet flawed creators. Key Takeaway Embrace both brilliance and error. Themes creativity humanity art Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - artistic process - creative blocks - personal expression Key Concepts divine inspiration imperfection Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance admiration and realism? - What lessons come from artistic mistakes? A Different Perspective Idolizing artists can be unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-god-344962/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God Idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-idiot-253712/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot/) [Idiot Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot-human-1508137/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“I knew you could be naive, but I never thought you were stupid. He's an Eye , Sophie. They kill our kind. 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God I'm an idiot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalene-visaggio/jesus-okay-but-this-is-the-last-time-i-help-you-kids-god-i-m-an-idiot/) [Magdalene Visaggio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalene-visaggio/) > [Humanity is OK, but 99% of people are boring idiots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/humanity-is-ok-but-99-of-people-are-boring-idiots/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Writers and intellectuals have a duty to humanity. It is to insist that the human entity remains the primary asset in overall development; thus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/writers-and-intellectuals-have-a-duty-to-humanity-it-is-to-insist/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) ## 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. 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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/) > [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/) > [An inability to choose is a hallmark of anxiety... The too-anxious artist, afraid to choose, will halt dead in the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/an-inability-to-choose-is-a-hallmark-of-anxiety-the-too-anxious/) [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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