--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whatever universal masterpiece of…" description: "\"“Whatever universal masterpiece of tomorrow may be wrought from phantasm or terror will owe its acceptance rather to a supreme workmanship than to a sy..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74d/h-p-lovecraft-2-2159_phantasm_whatever-universal-masterpiece-of-tomorr_2824406.jpg" --- # Whatever universal masterpiece of tomorrow may be wrought… ![“Whatever universal masterpiece of tomorrow may be wrought from phantasm or terror will owe its acceptance rather to a supreme workmanship than to a sympathetic theme. Yet who shall declare the dark theme a positive handicap? Radiant with beauty, the Cup of the Ptolemies was carven of onyx.” quote by H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74d/h-p-lovecraft-2-2159_phantasm_whatever-universal-masterpiece-of-tomorr_2824406.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74d/h-p-lovecraft-2-2159_phantasm_whatever-universal-masterpiece-of-tomorr_2824406.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74d/h-p-lovecraft-2-2159_phantasm_whatever-universal-masterpiece-of-tomorr_2824406.jpg) > ““Whatever universal masterpiece of tomorrow may be wrought from phantasm or terror will owe its acceptance rather to a supreme workmanship than to a sympathetic theme. Yet who shall declare the dark theme a positive handicap? Radiant with beauty, the Cup of the Ptolemies was carven of onyx.”” [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art born from terror may be valued for its craftsmanship rather than its emotional appeal, questioning if darkness can be positive. **In simple terms:** Dark art is judged by skill, not sympathy. Key Takeaway Appreciate skill even in unsettling works. Themes art aesthetics darkness craftsmanship Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - gallery curation - creative writing - film analysis - psychology Key Concepts philosophy literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - Can darkness be beautiful? - How does skill alter perception? A Different Perspective Dark themes may alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cup Ptolemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cup-ptolemies-3613426/) [Phantasm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phantasm-835500/) [Sympathetic Theme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathetic-theme-3613424/) [Theme Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theme-shall-3613427/) [Wrought Phantasm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrought-phantasm-3613425/) ## Related quotes > [“It is at night, especially when the moon is gibbous and waning, that I see the thing. I tried morphine; but the drug has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/it-is-at-night-especially-when-the-moon-is-gibbous-and-waning-that-i/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [Nic's Charlie is something very particular. You can't really put them together. It's a phantasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tilda-swinton/nic-s-charlie-is-something-very-particular-you-can-t-really-put-them/) [Tilda Swinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tilda-swinton/) > [The first serious consciousness of Nature's gesture - her attitude towards life-took form then as a phantasm, a nightmare, all insanity of force. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-first-serious-consciousness-of-nature-s-gesture-her-attitude/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“..a phantasm, a pink-palmed jinn, a ghost from one of the drowned cities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/a-phantasm-a-pink-palmed-jinn-a-ghost-from-one-of-the-drowned-cities/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [The hocus-pocus phantasm of a God, like another Cerberus, with one body and three heads, had its birth and growth in the blood of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-hocus-pocus-phantasm-of-a-god-like-another-cerberus-with-one-body/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Although the whole of this life were said to be nothing but a dream and the physical world nothing but a phantasm, I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/although-the-whole-of-this-life-were-said-to-be-nothing-but-a-dream/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [“Pity, mercy, compassion." "Thats's all I'm afraid," said Alfred. "That is everything," said the phantasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-weis/pity-mercy-compassion-thats-s-all-i-m-afraid-said-alfred-that-is/) [Margaret Weis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-weis/) ## More by H.P. Lovecraft > [“Damn it, it wasn’t quite fresh enough!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/damn-it-it-wasn-t-quite-fresh-enough/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Fear best lends itself to the creation of Nature-defying illusions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/fear-best-lends-itself-to-the-creation-of-nature-defying-illusions/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“a new chill from afar out whither the condor had flown, as if my flesh had caught a horror before my eyes had seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/a-new-chill-from-afar-out-whither-the-condor-had-flown-as-if-my-flesh/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“One can trace the relics of this former happiness in the trim shapes of the buildings, the occasional graceful churches, and the evidences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/one-can-trace-the-relics-of-this-former-happiness-in-the-trim-shapes/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“many pairs of legs and with two great bat-like wings in the middle of the back. They sometimes walked on all their legs, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/many-pairs-of-legs-and-with-two-great-bat-like-wings-in-the-middle-of/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“the trees would die before the poison was out of the soil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/the-trees-would-die-before-the-poison-was-out-of-the-soil/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Calm, lasting beauty comes only in dream, and this solace the world had thrown away when in its worship of the real it threw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/calm-lasting-beauty-comes-only-in-dream-and-this-solace-the-world-had/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“It’s hard to have done all one’s growing up since 33 — but that’s a damn sight better than not growing up at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/it-s-hard-to-have-done-all-one-s-growing-up-since-33-but-that-s-a/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“By noon Carter reached the jasper terraces of Kiran which slope down to the river's edge and bear that temple of loveliness wherein the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/by-noon-carter-reached-the-jasper-terraces-of-kiran-which-slope-down/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“The vast marble dome of the State House stood out in massive silhouette, its crowning statue haloed fantastically by a break in one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/the-vast-marble-dome-of-the-state-house-stood-out-in-massive/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“On many occasions the curious atmospheric effects enchanted me vastly; these including a strikingly vivid mirage - the first I had ever seen -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/on-many-occasions-the-curious-atmospheric-effects-enchanted-me-vastly/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Heaven knows where I'll end up - it's a safe bet I'll never be at the top of anything! Nor do I particularly care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/heaven-knows-where-i-ll-end-up-it-s-a-safe-bet-i-ll-never-be-at-the/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Our apprehensions were over what we might find, or fail to find, at the end of our journey; for silence continued to answer all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/our-apprehensions-were-over-what-we-might-find-or-fail-to-find-at-the/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“What we heard was not the fabulous note of any buried blasphemy of elder earth from whose supernal toughness an age-denied polar sun had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/what-we-heard-was-not-the-fabulous-note-of-any-buried-blasphemy-of/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“The Lurking Fear: Shrieking, slithering, torrential shadows of red viscous madness chasing one another through endless, ensanguined condors of purple fulgurous sky... formless phantasms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/the-lurking-fear-shrieking-slithering-torrential-shadows-of-red/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) [Explore all 148 H.P. Lovecraft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) ## More Phantasm quotes > [Nic's Charlie is something very particular. You can't really put them together. It's a phantasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tilda-swinton/nic-s-charlie-is-something-very-particular-you-can-t-really-put-them/) [Tilda Swinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tilda-swinton/) > [The first serious consciousness of Nature's gesture - her attitude towards life-took form then as a phantasm, a nightmare, all insanity of force. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-first-serious-consciousness-of-nature-s-gesture-her-attitude/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“..a phantasm, a pink-palmed jinn, a ghost from one of the drowned cities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/a-phantasm-a-pink-palmed-jinn-a-ghost-from-one-of-the-drowned-cities/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [The hocus-pocus phantasm of a God, like another Cerberus, with one body and three heads, had its birth and growth in the blood of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-hocus-pocus-phantasm-of-a-god-like-another-cerberus-with-one-body/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“It is at night, especially when the moon is gibbous and waning, that I see the thing. I tried morphine; but the drug has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/it-is-at-night-especially-when-the-moon-is-gibbous-and-waning-that-i/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [Although the whole of this life were said to be nothing but a dream and the physical world nothing but a phantasm, I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/although-the-whole-of-this-life-were-said-to-be-nothing-but-a-dream/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [“Pity, mercy, compassion." "Thats's all I'm afraid," said Alfred. "That is everything," said the phantasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-weis/pity-mercy-compassion-thats-s-all-i-m-afraid-said-alfred-that-is/) [Margaret Weis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-weis/) [Browse all 8 Phantasm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phantasm-835500/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Whatever universal masterpiece of tomorrow may be wrought from phantasm or terror will owe its acceptance rather to a supreme workmanship than to a sympathetic theme. Yet who shall declare the dark theme a positive handicap? Radiant with beauty, the Cup of the Ptolemies was carven of onyx.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "H.P. 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