--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is the only clean thing on earth…" description: "\"Art is the only clean thing on earth, except holiness.\" — Joris-Karl Huysmans" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/joris-karl-huysmans-12855_art_art-is-the-only-clean-thing-on-earth-exc_1792073.jpg" --- # Art is the only clean thing on earth, except holiness. ![“Art is the only clean thing on earth, except holiness.” quote by Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/joris-karl-huysmans-12855_art_art-is-the-only-clean-thing-on-earth-exc_1792073.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/joris-karl-huysmans-12855_art_art-is-the-only-clean-thing-on-earth-exc_1792073.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/joris-karl-huysmans-12855_art_art-is-the-only-clean-thing-on-earth-exc_1792073.jpg) > “Art is the only clean thing on earth, except holiness.” [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art is portrayed as a pure, sacred medium amidst a corrupted world, implying its spiritual value. **In simple terms:** Art is a pure, sacred thing. Key Takeaway Value art’s purity. Themes art spirituality purity Mood contemplative reverent Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - museum visits - creative practice Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy religious symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does art restore holiness? - What makes art “clean”? A Different Perspective Art may be inaccessible to many. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Holiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holiness/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [We need Goddess consciousness to reveal earth's holiness. Divine feminine imagery opens up the notion that the earth is the body of the Divine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-goddess-consciousness-to-reveal-earth-s-holiness-divine/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Even when your body does nothing, sin can be active in your mind. When your soul inwardly repulses the evil one's attack by means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-palamas/even-when-your-body-does-nothing-sin-can-be-active-in-your-mind-when/) [Gregory Palamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-palamas/) > [Objective art is just the opposite. The man has nothing to throw, he is utterly empty, absolutely clean. Out of this silence, out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/objective-art-is-just-the-opposite-the-man-has-nothing-to-throw-he-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“I believe that people are holy because they’re made in the image of God, and a place can be holy when God is present—but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-brock/i-believe-that-people-are-holy-because-they-re-made-in-the-image-of/) [Jared Brock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-brock/) > [What is sin? It is the glory of God not honored. The holiness of God not reverenced. The greatness of God not admired. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/what-is-sin-it-is-the-glory-of-god-not-honored-the-holiness-of-god/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Holy persons draw to themselves all that is earthly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hildegard-of-bingen/holy-persons-draw-to-themselves-all-that-is-earthly/) [Hildegard of Bingen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hildegard-of-bingen/) > [“Mother Teresa, when asked about her holiness or saintliness, always answers in a matter-of-fact way that holiness is a necessity of life--and explains that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-vardey/mother-teresa-when-asked-about-her-holiness-or-saintliness-always/) Lucinda Vardey > [God hath work to do in this world; and to desert it because of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/god-hath-work-to-do-in-this-world-and-to-desert-it-because-of-its/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [Not simply the righteousness of our Saviour, not simply the beauty of His holiness or the graces of His character, are we to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adoniram-judson-gordon/not-simply-the-righteousness-of-our-saviour-not-simply-the-beauty-of/) [Adoniram Judson Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adoniram-judson-gordon/) > [“I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-put-no-stock-in-religion-by-the-word-religion-i-have-seen-the/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [“The HOLY of Holiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-holy-of-holiness/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Holiness sincerity, and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/holiness-sincerity-and-faith/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) ## More by Joris-Karl Huysmans > [“I seek new perfumes, ampler blossoms, untried pleasures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/i-seek-new-perfumes-ampler-blossoms-untried-pleasures/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [Far from seeking to justify, as does the Church, the necessity of torments and afflictions, he cried, in his outraged pity: 'If a God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/far-from-seeking-to-justify-as-does-the-church-the-necessity-of/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [No longer was she merely the dancing-girl who extorts a cry of lust and concupiscence from an old man by the lascivious contortions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/no-longer-was-she-merely-the-dancing-girl-who-extorts-a-cry-of-lust/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [Ah; but my courage fails me, and my heart is sick within me! —Lord, take pity on the Christian who doubts, on the skeptic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/ah-but-my-courage-fails-me-and-my-heart-is-sick-within-me-lord-take/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [“There is not one single invention of (Nature's), however subtle or impressive it may be thought to be, that the human spirit cannot create;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/there-is-not-one-single-invention-of-nature-s-however-subtle-or/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [“Ah, when one has not the gift of rendering one's grief superbly and transforming it into literary or musical passages which weep magnificently, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/ah-when-one-has-not-the-gift-of-rendering-one-s-grief-superbly-and/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [“He wanted, in short, a work of art both for what it was in itself and for what it allowed him to bestow on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/he-wanted-in-short-a-work-of-art-both-for-what-it-was-in-itself-and/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [(Baudelaire) had descended to the bottom of the inexhaustible mine, had picked his way along abandoned or unexplored galleries, and had finally reached those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/baudelaire-had-descended-to-the-bottom-of-the-inexhaustible-mine-had/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [“What he wanted was colours which would appear stronger and clearer in artificial light. He did not particularly care if they looked crude or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/what-he-wanted-was-colours-which-would-appear-stronger-and-clearer-in/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [I wish to confound all these people, to create a work of art of a supernatural realism and of a spiritualist naturalism. I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/i-wish-to-confound-all-these-people-to-create-a-work-of-art-of-a/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [“The Louis XIII style in perfumery, composed of the elements dear to that period - orris-powder, musk, civet and myrtle-water, already known by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/the-louis-xiii-style-in-perfumery-composed-of-the-elements-dear-to/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [The only really indecent people are the chaste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/the-only-really-indecent-people-are-the-chaste/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [“Go forth more boldly, look at things more widely, pray as best you can, and do not trouble yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/go-forth-more-boldly-look-at-things-more-widely-pray-as-best-you-can/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [“He cared little for commonly experienced emotions, for everyday associations of ideas, now that the closing of his mind had grown more pronounced, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/he-cared-little-for-commonly-experienced-emotions-for-everyday/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [His contempt for humanity grew fiercer, and at last he came to realize that the world is made up mostly of fools and scoundrels.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/his-contempt-for-humanity-grew-fiercer-and-at-last-he-came-to-realize/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) [Explore all 50 Joris-Karl Huysmans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) ## 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. 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