--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What matters in art is not thinking but…" description: "\"What matters in art is not thinking but making.\" — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_what-matters-in-art-is-not-thinking-but_1451190.jpg" --- # What matters in art is not thinking but making. ![“What matters in art is not thinking but making.” quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_what-matters-in-art-is-not-thinking-but_1451190.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_what-matters-in-art-is-not-thinking-but_1451190.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_what-matters-in-art-is-not-thinking-but_1451190.jpg) > “What matters in art is not thinking but making.” [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art requires action over contemplation; creation is the essence of artistic value **In simple terms:** Making art matters more than just thinking about it Key Takeaway Create, don’t just contemplate Themes creativity action artistic process philosophy Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - art workshops - personal projects - collaborative studios Key Concepts practical creation experiential learning expressive freedom Questions to Reflect On - What blocks you from creating? - How does making art change your perspective? A Different Perspective Thinking alone doesn’t produce art; action is essential ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“For what is truth? In matters of religion, it is simply the opinion that has survived. In matters of science, it is the ultimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/for-what-is-truth-in-matters-of-religion-it-is-simply-the-opinion/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [In art it's not the thinking that does the job, but making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/in-art-it-s-not-the-thinking-that-does-the-job-but-making/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The thing about writing or making art is that I'm not thinking about that stuff while I'm doing it. Like the driver's ed kid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/the-thing-about-writing-or-making-art-is-that-i-m-not-thinking-about/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [I'm thinking about anything and everything. I'm making stuff up in my head, I'm using sense memory. Sometimes when it doesn't come and you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-farmiga/i-m-thinking-about-anything-and-everything-i-m-making-stuff-up-in-my/) [Vera Farmiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-farmiga/) > [Quotes are a way of acting out not just a text, and not just thinking, but the making of a text. The construction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-tupitsyn/quotes-are-a-way-of-acting-out-not-just-a-text-and-not-just-thinking/) [Masha Tupitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-tupitsyn/) > [When I start on a book, I have been thinking about it and making occasional notes for some time... So I have lots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/when-i-start-on-a-book-i-have-been-thinking-about-it-and-making/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Shah Rukh and I have been thinking of making something together, but nothing has materialized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyadarshan/shah-rukh-and-i-have-been-thinking-of-making-something-together-but/) [Priyadarshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyadarshan/) > [I've learned a lot from my mistakes... Now I'm thinking of making some more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jcalex-maneja/i-ve-learned-a-lot-from-my-mistakes-now-i-m-thinking-of-making-some/) [Jcalex Maneja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jcalex-maneja/) > [I went to Goldsmith College of Art in London in the '80s and there I made sculptures, but the objects had nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-went-to-goldsmith-college-of-art-in-london-in-the-80s-and-there-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ive learned so much from my mistakes I'm thinking about making a few more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ive-learned-so-much-from-my-mistakes-i-m-thinking-about-making-a-few/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I think about what other people are thinking when I'm making music, I just can't do it. It's too withheld - I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimes/if-i-think-about-what-other-people-are-thinking-when-i-m-making-music/) [Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grimes/) > [As an artist, expectations are basically your enemy. If you're truly making something to make it, then you're not thinking about anything else except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drew/as-an-artist-expectations-are-basically-your-enemy-if-you-re-truly/) [Kevin Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drew/) > [If you directly try to write about an idea, it will never be what you imagined. But if you're imagining through the building of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-spiotta/if-you-directly-try-to-write-about-an-idea-it-will-never-be-what-you/) [Dana Spiotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-spiotta/) > [I've learned so much from my mistakes... I'm thinking of making some more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-cole/i-ve-learned-so-much-from-my-mistakes-i-m-thinking-of-making-some-more/) [Cheryl Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-cole/) > [You're always thinking about making new music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-marshall/you-re-always-thinking-about-making-new-music/) [Winston Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-marshall/) ## More by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe > [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/) > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in some particulars a little unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-lyrical-work-must-as-a-whole-be-perfectly-intelligible-but-in/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-easier-to-perceive-error-than-to-find-truth-for-the-former-lies/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is no patriotic art and no patriotic science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/there-is-no-patriotic-art-and-no-patriotic-science/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The connoisseur of art must be able to appreciate what is simply beautiful, but the common run of people is satisfied with ornament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-connoisseur-of-art-must-be-able-to-appreciate-what-is-simply/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Let us not dream that reason can ever be popular. Passions, emotions, may be made popular; but reason remains ever the property of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/let-us-not-dream-that-reason-can-ever-be-popular-passions-emotions/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Our foibles are really what make us lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/our-foibles-are-really-what-make-us-lovable/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Instruction does much, but encouragement everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/instruction-does-much-but-encouragement-everything/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Giving is the business of the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/giving-is-the-business-of-the-rich/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Just begin and the mind grows heated; continue, and the task will be completed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/just-begin-and-the-mind-grows-heated-continue-and-the-task-will-be/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I look upon all four Gospels as thoroughly genuine, for there shines forth from them the reflected splendor of a sublimity proceeding from Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-look-upon-all-four-gospels-as-thoroughly-genuine-for-there-shines/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. We are not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-we-may-say-against-collections-which-present-authors-in-a/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) [Explore all 2,052 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## 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": "What matters in art is not thinking but making.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Johann Wolfgang von Goethe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/what-matters-in-art-is-not-thinking-but-making/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/what-matters-in-art-is-not-thinking-but-making/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_what-matters-in-art-is-not-thinking-but_1451190.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_what-matters-in-art-is-not-thinking-but_1451190.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_what-matters-in-art-is-not-thinking-but_1451190.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What matters in art is not thinking but making.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe", "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": "Johann Wolfgang von Goethe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What matters in art is not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/what-matters-in-art-is-not-thinking-but-making/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/what-matters-in-art-is-not-thinking-but-making/#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 } } ] } ```