--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But all categories of art, idealistic or…" description: "\"But all categories of art, idealistic or realistic, surrealistic or constructivist (a new form of idealism) must satisfy a simple test (or they are in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a6/herbert-read-7906_art_but-all-categories-of-art-idealistic-or_2567751.jpg" --- # But all categories of art, idealistic or realistic… ![“But all categories of art, idealistic or realistic, surrealistic or constructivist (a new form of idealism) must satisfy a simple test (or they are in no sense works of art): they must persist as objects of contemplation.” quote by Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a6/herbert-read-7906_art_but-all-categories-of-art-idealistic-or_2567751.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a6/herbert-read-7906_art_but-all-categories-of-art-idealistic-or_2567751.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a6/herbert-read-7906_art_but-all-categories-of-art-idealistic-or_2567751.jpg) > “But all categories of art, idealistic or realistic, surrealistic or constructivist (a new form of idealism) must satisfy a simple test (or they are in no sense works of art): they must persist as objects of contemplation.” [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art must be capable of sustained contemplation; otherwise it fails as true art. **In simple terms:** Art should invite lasting reflection. Key Takeaway Seek works that hold your attention. Themes aesthetics philosophy contemplation Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - gallery visits - art education - personal reflection - museum tours Key Concepts objecthood art theory critical perception Questions to Reflect On - What makes a piece linger in your mind? - How do you differentiate fleeting novelty from lasting value? A Different Perspective Some art aims to provoke immediate reaction rather than contemplation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Idealistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-idealistic-1662750/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Categories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/categories/) [Constructivist New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constructivist-new-1662752/) [Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Form Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form-idealism-1662751/) [Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism/) [Idealistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealistic/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Objects Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects-contemplation-433011/) [Persist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persist/) [Realistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realistic/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Surrealistic Constructivist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrealistic-constructivist-1662749/) [Tests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tests/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [Works of art must persist as objects of contemplation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/works-of-art-must-persist-as-objects-of-contemplation/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [“Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist’s true friend. What people somehow (inadvertently, I’m sure) forgot to mention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/perfectionism-is-a-mean-frozen-form-of-idealism-while-messes-are-the-2/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist's true friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/perfectionism-is-a-mean-frozen-form-of-idealism-while-messes-are-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Journalism has become a form of idealism. It is no longer, first and foremost, function, craft, service - it is mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/journalism-has-become-a-form-of-idealism-it-is-no-longer-first-and/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [It may be added, to prevent misunderstanding, that when I speak of contemplated objects in this last phrase as objects of contemplation, the act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/it-may-be-added-to-prevent-misunderstanding-that-when-i-speak-of/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [But unfortunately Locke treated ideas of reflection as if they were another class of objects of contemplation beside ideas of sensation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/but-unfortunately-locke-treated-ideas-of-reflection-as-if-they-were/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [Melancholy betrays the world for the sake of knowledge. But in its tenacious self-absorption it embraces dead objects in its contemplation, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/melancholy-betrays-the-world-for-the-sake-of-knowledge-but-in-its/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Women are treated as unjustly in poetry as in life. The feminine ones are not idealistic, and the idealistic not feminine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/women-are-treated-as-unjustly-in-poetry-as-in-life-the-feminine-ones/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [For most of us, generosity is a quality that must be developed. We have to respect that it will grow gradually; otherwise our spirituality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/for-most-of-us-generosity-is-a-quality-that-must-be-developed-we-have/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [The young and dynamic and idealistic people in the square do not have the chance to organise themselves politically, to be able to follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/the-young-and-dynamic-and-idealistic-people-in-the-square-do-not-have/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Nationalism, on my opinion, is nothing more than an idealistic rationalization for militarism and aggression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/nationalism-on-my-opinion-is-nothing-more-than-an-idealistic/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I do honestly think that if women were running the world there would be more investment in peace, because basically as women we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/i-do-honestly-think-that-if-women-were-running-the-world-there-would/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [There was a time when idealistic folksingers such as myself believed that Reality TV was a programming vogue that would peak and recede, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/there-was-a-time-when-idealistic-folksingers-such-as-myself-believed/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [An excessive preponderance of an idealistic mood is harmful to society: it creates daydreaming, political Don Quixotism, hope for heavenly intervention. This is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/an-excessive-preponderance-of-an-idealistic-mood-is-harmful-to/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) ## More by Herbert Read > [Perhaps it is this theory of all work and no play that has made the Marxist such a very dull boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/perhaps-it-is-this-theory-of-all-work-and-no-play-that-has-made-the/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [There are a few people, but a diminishing number, who still believe that Marxism, as an economic system, off era a coherent alternative to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/there-are-a-few-people-but-a-diminishing-number-who-still-believe/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The sensitive artist knows that a bitter wind is blowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-sensitive-artist-knows-that-a-bitter-wind-is-blowing/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The slave may be happy, but happiness is not enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-slave-may-be-happy-but-happiness-is-not-enough/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The classicist, and the naturalist who has much in common with him, refuse to see in the highest works of art anything but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-classicist-and-the-naturalist-who-has-much-in-common-with-him/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Man is everywhere still in chains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/man-is-everywhere-still-in-chains/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [It does not seem that the contradiction which exists between the aristocratic function of art and the democratic structure of modern society can ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/it-does-not-seem-that-the-contradiction-which-exists-between-the/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [I can imagine no society which does not embody some method of arbitration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/i-can-imagine-no-society-which-does-not-embody-some-method-of/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Sensibility... is a direct and particular reaction to the separate and individual nature of things. It begins and ends with the sensuous apprehension of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/sensibility-is-a-direct-and-particular-reaction-to-the-separate-and/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [In the evolution of mankind there has always been a certain degree of social coherence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/in-the-evolution-of-mankind-there-has-always-been-a-certain-degree-of/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Modern man has been in search of a new language of form to satisfy new longings and aspirations - longings for mental appeasement, aspirations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/modern-man-has-been-in-search-of-a-new-language-of-form-to-satisfy/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [I am not going to claim that modern anarchism has any direct relation to Roman jurisprudence; but I do claim that it has its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/i-am-not-going-to-claim-that-modern-anarchism-has-any-direct-relation/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [To realize that new world we must prefer the values of freedom and equality above all other values - above personal wealth, technical power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/to-realize-that-new-world-we-must-prefer-the-values-of-freedom-and/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Intellect begins with the observation of nature, proceeds to memorize and classify the facts thus observed, and by logical deduction builds up that edifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/intellect-begins-with-the-observation-of-nature-proceeds-to-memorize/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [In a sense, every tool is a machine--the hammer, the ax, and the chisel. And every machine is a tool. The real distinction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/in-a-sense-every-tool-is-a-machine-the-hammer-the-ax-and-the-chisel/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) [Explore all 86 Herbert Read quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) ## 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. 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": "But all categories of art, idealistic or realistic, surrealistic or constructivist (a new form of idealism) must satisfy a simple test (or they are in no sense works of art): they must persist as objects of contemplation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herbert Read" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/but-all-categories-of-art-idealistic-or-realistic-surrealistic-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/but-all-categories-of-art-idealistic-or-realistic-surrealistic-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a6/herbert-read-7906_art_but-all-categories-of-art-idealistic-or_2567751.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a6/herbert-read-7906_art_but-all-categories-of-art-idealistic-or_2567751.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a6/herbert-read-7906_art_but-all-categories-of-art-idealistic-or_2567751.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But all categories of art, idealistic or realistic, surrealistic or constructivist (a new form of idealism)…” — Herbert Read", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Herbert Read", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But all categories of art, idealistic...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/but-all-categories-of-art-idealistic-or-realistic-surrealistic-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/but-all-categories-of-art-idealistic-or-realistic-surrealistic-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```