--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It has been said that great art is the…" description: "\"It has been said that great art is the night thought of man. It may emerge without warning from the soundless depths of the unconscious, just as supern..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/546/loren-eiseley-3848_art_it-has-been-said-that-great-art-is-the-n_1060282.jpg" --- # It has been said that great art is the night thought of… ![“It has been said that great art is the night thought of man. It may emerge without warning from the soundless depths of the unconscious, just as supernovas may blaze up suddenly in the farther reaches of void space.” quote by Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/546/loren-eiseley-3848_art_it-has-been-said-that-great-art-is-the-n_1060282.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/546/loren-eiseley-3848_art_it-has-been-said-that-great-art-is-the-n_1060282.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/546/loren-eiseley-3848_art_it-has-been-said-that-great-art-is-the-n_1060282.jpg) > “It has been said that great art is the night thought of man. It may emerge without warning from the soundless depths of the unconscious, just as supernovas may blaze up suddenly in the farther reaches of void space.” [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great art can arise spontaneously from deep unconscious thought, like a sudden supernova in empty space. **In simple terms:** Art can appear suddenly from hidden thoughts. Key Takeaway Embrace quiet reflection to spark creativity. Themes creativity art unconscious inspiration Mood wonder awe curiosity Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - dream journaling - brainstorming sessions - artistic retreats Key Concepts psychology cosmology emergence Questions to Reflect On - How do you capture fleeting ideas? - What practices help you listen to your unconscious? A Different Perspective Not all creative bursts are useful; they may lack direction or relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Depths Unconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depths-unconscious-2585336/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Night Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night-thought-426765/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Supernova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supernova/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Unconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconscious/) [Void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/void/) [Warning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warning/) ## Related quotes > [“Paradoxically, in descending into the depths of the unconscious in order to deal with the prima materia of the shadow, we are simultaneously on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-levy/paradoxically-in-descending-into-the-depths-of-the-unconscious-in/) [Paul Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-levy/) > [“is beyond instinct, that area within our psyche that has never truly awakened after being lulled into a slumber through the centuries since we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hart/is-beyond-instinct-that-area-within-our-psyche-that-has-never-truly/) [Joe Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hart/) > [It is frequently the tragedy of the great artist, as it is of the great scientist, that he frightens the ordinary man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/it-is-frequently-the-tragedy-of-the-great-artist-as-it-is-of-the/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [It is frequently the tragedy of the great artist for example Vincent Van Gogh, as it is of the great scientist, that he frightens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/it-is-frequently-the-tragedy-of-the-great-artist-for-example-vincent/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [The great artist, whether he be musician, painter, or poet, is known for this absolute unexpectedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-great-artist-whether-he-be-musician-painter-or-poet-is-known-for/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“Maybe I ain't too old to start over, I think and I laugh and cry at the same time at this. Cause just last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/maybe-i-ain-t-too-old-to-start-over-i-think-and-i-laugh-and-cry-at/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [Just the other night I thought I heard you cry, asking me to come and hold you in my arms. though we are far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/just-the-other-night-i-thought-i-heard-you-cry-asking-me-to-come-and/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience/) > [We sat around one night and thought that people are going to look back and say, I can't imagine there was a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-mcauliffe/we-sat-around-one-night-and-thought-that-people-are-going-to-look/) [Christa McAuliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-mcauliffe/) > [I was laying in bed one night and I thought 'I'll just quit - to hell with it.' And another little voice inside me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-was-laying-in-bed-one-night-and-i-thought-i-ll-just-quit-to-hell/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I woke up last night and thought: 'I must call somebody in my next novel Casablanca.' It's such a great name. I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/i-woke-up-last-night-and-thought-i-must-call-somebody-in-my-next/) [Jackie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-collins/) > [Its so hard to sleep at night when there are so many thought going through your head~~~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-so-hard-to-sleep-at-night-when-there-are-so-many-thought-going/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Hopeless of the future, I wished but this- that my Maker had that night thought good to require my soul of me while I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/hopeless-of-the-future-i-wished-but-this-that-my-maker-had-that-night/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [When you can't sleep at night have you ever thought that maybe it's God who is trying to speak to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-can-t-sleep-at-night-have-you-ever-thought-that-maybe-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you cannot sleep at night, have you even thought maybe it's God sayin' We need to talk and know you have time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-cannot-sleep-at-night-have-you-even-thought-maybe-it-s-god/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you cannot sleep at night. Have you ever thought maybe it's god saying WE NEED TO TALK AND YOU NOW HAVE TIME](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiritual-inspiration-tumblr/when-you-cannot-sleep-at-night-have-you-ever-thought-maybe-it-s-god/) [Spiritual Inspiration Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiritual-inspiration-tumblr/) ## More by Loren Eiseley > [“Taking a final pleasure in what the wind can neither proclaim nor destroy, I am a student of nightfall, I claim no other profession.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/taking-a-final-pleasure-in-what-the-wind-can-neither-proclaim-nor/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [We are one of many appearances of the thing called Life; we are not its perfect image, for it has no perfect image except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/we-are-one-of-many-appearances-of-the-thing-called-life-we-are-not/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Perhaps a creature of so much ingenuity and deep memory is almost bound to grow alienated from his world, his fellows, and the objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/perhaps-a-creature-of-so-much-ingenuity-and-deep-memory-is-almost/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“The best way to be resurrected is to be forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-best-way-to-be-resurrected-is-to-be-forgotten/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [To have dragons one must have change; that is the first principle of dragon lore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/to-have-dragons-one-must-have-change-that-is-the-first-principle-of/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [It is frequently the tragedy of the great artist, as it is of the great scientist, that he frightens the ordinary man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/it-is-frequently-the-tragedy-of-the-great-artist-as-it-is-of-the/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/every-time-we-walk-along-a-beach-some-ancient-urge-disturbs-us-so/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [The future is neither ahead nor behind, on one side or another. Nor is it dark or light. It is contained within ourselves; its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-future-is-neither-ahead-nor-behind-on-one-side-or-another-nor-is/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Out of the choked Devonian waters emerged sight and sound and the music that rolls invisible through the composer's brain. They are there still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/out-of-the-choked-devonian-waters-emerged-sight-and-sound-and-the/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [One could not pluck a flower without troubling a star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/one-could-not-pluck-a-flower-without-troubling-a-star/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“I once saw, on a flower pot in my own living room, the efforts of a field mouse to build a remembered field. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/i-once-saw-on-a-flower-pot-in-my-own-living-room-the-efforts-of-a/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Lights come and go in the night sky. Men, troubled at last by the things they build, may toss in their sleep and dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/lights-come-and-go-in-the-night-sky-men-troubled-at-last-by-the/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [The secret, if one may paraphrase a savage vocabulary, lies in the egg of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-secret-if-one-may-paraphrase-a-savage-vocabulary-lies-in-the-egg/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Without the gift of flowers and the infinite diversity of their fruits, man and bird, if they had continued to exist at all, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/without-the-gift-of-flowers-and-the-infinite-diversity-of-their/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“Black magic, the magic of the primeval chaos, blots out or transmogrifies the true form of things. At the stroke of twelve the princess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/black-magic-the-magic-of-the-primeval-chaos-blots-out-or/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) [Explore all 121 Loren Eiseley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) ## 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": "It has been said that great art is the night thought of man. 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