--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You don’t make art out of good intentions." description: "\"You don’t make art out of good intentions.\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/gustave-flaubert-354_art_you-don-t-make-art-out-of-good-intention_1649785.jpg" --- # You don’t make art out of good intentions. ![“You don’t make art out of good intentions.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/gustave-flaubert-354_art_you-don-t-make-art-out-of-good-intention_1649785.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/gustave-flaubert-354_art_you-don-t-make-art-out-of-good-intention_1649785.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/gustave-flaubert-354_art_you-don-t-make-art-out-of-good-intention_1649785.jpg) > “You don’t make art out of good intentions.” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good intentions alone do not create lasting art; skill and truth are essential. **In simple terms:** Intentions aren’t enough for art; craft matters. Key Takeaway Focus on technique over motives. Themes art intention craft Mood philosophical inspirational Type literary creative When to use this quote - writing - painting - music composition Key Concepts authenticity creative process Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance intention and skill? - What defines “good” art? A Different Perspective Pure idealism may produce superficial work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Good intentions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-intentions/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Intentions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intentions/) ## Related quotes > [Good intentions do not guarantee good results. Somehow Andrew Keates turns works of merit into evenings of entertainment. Don't call him a dramaturge, call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gambaccini/good-intentions-do-not-guarantee-good-results-somehow-andrew-keates/) [Paul Gambaccini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gambaccini/) > [... good intentions are not sufficient to solve our problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-parker-follett/good-intentions-are-not-sufficient-to-solve-our-problems/) [Mary Parker Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-parker-follett/) > [I'm always in awe of and respect humans for their ability to plan, but sometimes, good intentions are lost along the way. And often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pipilotti-rist/i-m-always-in-awe-of-and-respect-humans-for-their-ability-to-plan-but/) [Pipilotti Rist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pipilotti-rist/) > [I see that I've become a really bad correspondent. It's not that I don't think of you. You come into my thoughts often. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-see-that-i-ve-become-a-really-bad-correspondent-it-s-not-that-i-don/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Good intentions aren't good enough!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush-2/good-intentions-aren-t-good-enough/) [George W Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush-2/) > [I have always maintained that if you work hard, it wont go waste, as recognition will come to you at some stage, whether in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suresh-raina/i-have-always-maintained-that-if-you-work-hard-it-wont-go-waste-as/) [Suresh Raina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suresh-raina/) > [As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we are capable of so much more. For that, good intentions are not enough. We must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/as-sons-and-daughters-of-our-heavenly-father-we-are-capable-of-so/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [Dashed hopes and good intentions. Good, better, best, bested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/dashed-hopes-and-good-intentions-good-better-best-bested/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Good intentions are simply not enough. Our character is defined and our lives are determined not by what we want, say or think, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-josephson/good-intentions-are-simply-not-enough-our-character-is-defined-and/) [Michael Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-josephson/) > [There are so many different ways to make art. And so many good stories. You don't have to have a budget. I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amandla-stenberg/there-are-so-many-different-ways-to-make-art-and-so-many-good-stories/) [Amandla Stenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amandla-stenberg/) > [I've always believed that as an artist, as a writer, you need a lot of contact with other people to make your art good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin-2/i-ve-always-believed-that-as-an-artist-as-a-writer-you-need-a-lot-of/) [N. K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin-2/) > [“While trying is filled with good intentions, doing is the result of intentional living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/while-trying-is-filled-with-good-intentions-doing-is-the-result-of/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [“It’s not the things you do with love and good intentions that you end up regretting. It’s the things you don’t do that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-sheridan/it-s-not-the-things-you-do-with-love-and-good-intentions-that-you-end/) [Mia Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-sheridan/) > [“If God had good intentions, he would have rewarded the sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-god-had-good-intentions-he-would-have-rewarded-the-sex/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Our good intentions have gotten in our own way and it's bad for immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-crenshaw/our-good-intentions-have-gotten-in-our-own-way-and-it-s-bad-for/) [Dan Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-crenshaw/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. 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You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## 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. 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