--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every art, like our own, has in its…" description: "\"Every art, like our own, has in its composition fluctuating as well as fixed principles. It is an attentive inquiry into their difference that will ena..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/joshua-reynolds-8159_art_every-art-like-our-own-has-in-its-compos_2944712.jpg" --- # Every art, like our own, has in its composition… ![“Every art, like our own, has in its composition fluctuating as well as fixed principles. It is an attentive inquiry into their difference that will enable us to determine how far we are influenced by custom and habit, and what is fixed in the nature of things.” quote by Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/joshua-reynolds-8159_art_every-art-like-our-own-has-in-its-compos_2944712.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/joshua-reynolds-8159_art_every-art-like-our-own-has-in-its-compos_2944712.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/joshua-reynolds-8159_art_every-art-like-our-own-has-in-its-compos_2944712.jpg) > “Every art, like our own, has in its composition fluctuating as well as fixed principles. It is an attentive inquiry into their difference that will enable us to determine how far we are influenced by custom and habit, and what is fixed in the nature of things.” [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art balances fluid, changing elements with stable, fixed principles; examining this tension reveals how much tradition versus habit shapes us. **In simple terms:** Art mixes change and constancy; study it. Key Takeaway Study artistic tension. Themes art philosophy tradition Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - museum curation - art education - creative practice - design thinking Key Concepts aesthetics cognitive science Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate tradition from habit? - When should you break fixed principles? A Different Perspective Rigid adherence can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Customs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customs/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Inquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) ## Related quotes > [The cypress boat is frequently a symbol of fluctuating intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-waley/the-cypress-boat-is-frequently-a-symbol-of-fluctuating-intention/) Arthur Waley > [Our joy in Him may be a fluctuating thing: His joy in us knows no change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hudson-taylor/our-joy-in-him-may-be-a-fluctuating-thing-his-joy-in-us-knows-no/) [Hudson Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hudson-taylor/) > [“Her affections had continually been fluctuating but never without an object.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/her-affections-had-continually-been-fluctuating-but-never-without-an/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [The truth that could be extracted from words was such a fluctuating, relative truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-handel-richardson/the-truth-that-could-be-extracted-from-words-was-such-a-fluctuating/) [Henry Handel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-handel-richardson/) > [Time is a series of fluctuating variables.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/time-is-a-series-of-fluctuating-variables/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The true investor welcomes volatility ... a wildly fluctuating market means that irrationally low prices will periodically be attached to solid businesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/the-true-investor-welcomes-volatility-a-wildly-fluctuating-market/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [I'm constantly fluctuating back and forth between 'I'm so lonely, I wish someone love me' and 'I like being alone I'm terrified of love.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-constantly-fluctuating-back-and-forth-between-i-m-so-lonely-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I keep the subject of my inquiry constantly before me, and wait till the first dawning opens gradually, by little and little, into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-keep-the-subject-of-my-inquiry-constantly-before-me-and-wait-till/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Only by being suspended aloft, by dangling my mind in the heavens and mingling my rare thought with the ethereal air, could I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/only-by-being-suspended-aloft-by-dangling-my-mind-in-the-heavens-and/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [It is by losing himself in the objective, in inquiry, creation, and craft, that a man becomes something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/it-is-by-losing-himself-in-the-objective-in-inquiry-creation-and/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/to-read-is-to-fly-it-is-to-soar-to-a-point-of-vantage-which-gives-a/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [The philosophic spirit of inquiry may be traced to brute curiosity, and that to the habit of examining all things in search of food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-winwood-reade/the-philosophic-spirit-of-inquiry-may-be-traced-to-brute-curiosity/) [William Winwood Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-winwood-reade/) > [While the principles of our Constitution give just latitude to inquiry, every citizen faithful to it will deem embodied expressions of discontent and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-the-principles-of-our-constitution-give-just-latitude-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [With how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-how-many-things-are-we-on-the-brink-of-becoming-acquainted-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in "organized knowledge," as it does in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not-consist-so-much-in-knowing/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) ## More by Joshua Reynolds > [Words should be employed as the means, not the end; language is the instrument, conviction is the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/words-should-be-employed-as-the-means-not-the-end-language-is-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Grandeur of effect is produced by two different ways which seem entirely opposed to each other. One is by reducing the colors to little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-different-ways-which-seem/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [And he who does not know himself does not know others, so it may be said with equal truth, that he who does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/and-he-who-does-not-know-himself-does-not-know-others-so-it-may-be/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [If you have great talents, industry will improve them: if you have but moderate abilities, industry will supply their deficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/if-you-have-great-talents-industry-will-improve-them-if-you-have-but/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Certainly, nothing can be more simple than monotony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/certainly-nothing-can-be-more-simple-than-monotony/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [The real character of a man is found out by his amusements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/the-real-character-of-a-man-is-found-out-by-his-amusements/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [A mere copier of nature can never produce anything great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/a-mere-copier-of-nature-can-never-produce-anything-great/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [The general ideas which are expressed in sketches, correspond very well to the art often used in poetry... every reader making out the detail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/the-general-ideas-which-are-expressed-in-sketches-correspond-very/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [All the gestures of children are graceful; the reign of distortion and unnatural attitudes commences with the introduction of the dancing master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/all-the-gestures-of-children-are-graceful-the-reign-of-distortion-and/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Our studies will be forever, in a very great degree, under the direction of chance; like travelers, we must take what we can get,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/our-studies-will-be-forever-in-a-very-great-degree-under-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Style in painting is the same as in writing; a power over materials, whether words or colors, by which conceptions or sentiments are conveyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/style-in-painting-is-the-same-as-in-writing-a-power-over-materials/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [The distinct blue, red, and yellow colors... though they have not the kind of harmony which is produced by a variety of broken and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/the-distinct-blue-red-and-yellow-colors-though-they-have-not-the-kind/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [I do not see in what manner practice alone can be sufficient for the production of correct, excellent, and finished pictures. Works deserving this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/i-do-not-see-in-what-manner-practice-alone-can-be-sufficient-for-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [There can be no doubt but that he who has the most materials has the greatest means of invention...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/there-can-be-no-doubt-but-that-he-who-has-the-most-materials-has-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Excellence is never granted to man, but as the reward of labour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/excellence-is-never-granted-to-man-but-as-the-reward-of-labour/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) [Explore all 83 Joshua Reynolds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) ## 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": "Every art, like our own, has in its composition fluctuating as well as fixed principles. 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