--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We assert that the subject is crucial and…" description: "\"We assert that the subject is crucial and only that subject matter is valid which is tragic and timeless.\" — Mark Rothko" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/mark-rothko-11292_crucial_we-assert-that-the-subject-is-crucial-an_2017769.jpg" --- # We assert that the subject is crucial and only that… ![“We assert that the subject is crucial and only that subject matter is valid which is tragic and timeless.” quote by Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/mark-rothko-11292_crucial_we-assert-that-the-subject-is-crucial-an_2017769.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/mark-rothko-11292_crucial_we-assert-that-the-subject-is-crucial-an_2017769.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/mark-rothko-11292_crucial_we-assert-that-the-subject-is-crucial-an_2017769.jpg) > “We assert that the subject is crucial and only that subject matter is valid which is tragic and timeless.” [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Subjectivity is the sole valid lens; art must convey timeless, tragic human experience. **In simple terms:** Art should focus on universal human truth. Key Takeaway Prioritize deep, timeless subject matter. Themes art subjectivity timelessness tragedy human condition Mood contemplative serious inspirational Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery curation - art education - personal reflection - creative practice Key Concepts existentialism aesthetic philosophy emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - How does tragedy shape artistic expression? - What makes a subject timeless? A Different Perspective Strict focus on subject may limit artistic experimentation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Timeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/timeless/) [Tragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragic/) ## Related quotes > [Why shouldn't I be interested in politics? That is to say, what blindness, what deafness, what density of ideology would have to weigh me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/why-shouldn-t-i-be-interested-in-politics-that-is-to-say-what/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Any truth, no matter how valid, if emphasized to the exclusion of other truths of equal importance, is practical error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-kuhlman/any-truth-no-matter-how-valid-if-emphasized-to-the-exclusion-of-other/) [Kathryn Kuhlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-kuhlman/) > ['Playboy' made the good life a reality for me and made it the subject matter of my paintings - not affluence and luxury as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/playboy-made-the-good-life-a-reality-for-me-and-made-it-the-subject/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [I read numerous books - loads in fact - and, as I always do when recording a historical project, immersed myself into the subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wakeman/i-read-numerous-books-loads-in-fact-and-as-i-always-do-when-recording/) [Rick Wakeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wakeman/) > [Trying to write books with a subject matter or in a genre or style you're not familiar with is the best way to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-deaver/trying-to-write-books-with-a-subject-matter-or-in-a-genre-or-style/) [Jeffery Deaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-deaver/) > [The propositions of mathematics are devoid of all factual content; they convey no information whatever on any empirical subject matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-gustav-hempel/the-propositions-of-mathematics-are-devoid-of-all-factual-content/) [Carl Gustav Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-gustav-hempel/) > [I start with the subject matter I want to write about. Then I make a musical base for that and create an atmosphere with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/midge-ure/i-start-with-the-subject-matter-i-want-to-write-about-then-i-make-a/) [Midge Ure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/midge-ure/) > [My subject matter was a genuine sort of experience that came out of my life, particularly the American world in which I was privileged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/my-subject-matter-was-a-genuine-sort-of-experience-that-came-out-of/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [I was aware that you weren't supposed to write about suburbia, that it was undignified in some way, the subject matter not momentous enough.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-was-aware-that-you-weren-t-supposed-to-write-about-suburbia-that-it/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-one-cannot-state-a-matter-clearly-enough-so-that-even-an/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The subject matter of the stories on the surface... there seem to be a number of stories about travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/the-subject-matter-of-the-stories-on-the-surface-there-seem-to-be-a/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [None of my own experiences ever finds its way into my work. 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This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/it-is-a-widely-accepted-notion-among-painters-that-it-does-not-matter/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [There is only one thing I fear in life, my friend: One day, the black will swallow the red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/there-is-only-one-thing-i-fear-in-life-my-friend-one-day-the-black/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [I do not believe that there was ever a question of being abstract or representational. 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First of all we need the right view that transcends all notions including of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/changing-is-not-just-changing-the-things-outside-of-us-first-of-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [Every crucial experience can be regarded either as a setback, or the start of a wonderful new adventure, it depends on your perspective!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/every-crucial-experience-can-be-regarded-either-as-a-setback-or-the/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [Don't become a slave to non-crucial matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ringer/don-t-become-a-slave-to-non-crucial-matters/) [Robert Ringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ringer/) > [You'll realize the transformation is not for you alone. You'll learn that you're here to use this gift to shine light on the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-bernstein/you-ll-realize-the-transformation-is-not-for-you-alone-you-ll-learn/) [Gabrielle Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-bernstein/) > [As you get older, every chance to win a championship is more crucial, because you are going to have less and less of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-west/as-you-get-older-every-chance-to-win-a-championship-is-more-crucial/) [Jerry West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-west/) > [It is the client who knows what hurts, what directions to go, what problems are crucial, what experiences have been deeply buried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/it-is-the-client-who-knows-what-hurts-what-directions-to-go-what/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [I promise you that there are a lot of people involved in various kinds of retail activities who think they have a crucial role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/i-promise-you-that-there-are-a-lot-of-people-involved-in-various/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [Though the world may often appear to be more charitable than the church, it is crucial to remember that, for the church, the care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/though-the-world-may-often-appear-to-be-more-charitable-than-the/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [In an age of interdependence, global citizenship - based on trust and sense of shared responsibility - is a crucial pillar of progress. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/in-an-age-of-interdependence-global-citizenship-based-on-trust-and/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [At all crucial moments in our lives we want to speak without knowing what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/at-all-crucial-moments-in-our-lives-we-want-to-speak-without-knowing/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [In a movie like this, the relationship between the two guys is crucial. It sinks or swims on how these two guys are together.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-murphy/in-a-movie-like-this-the-relationship-between-the-two-guys-is-crucial/) [Eddie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-murphy/) > [The second part of the New Right's policy package has been the belief that free-market solutions are always best. It is this latter view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ormerod/the-second-part-of-the-new-right-s-policy-package-has-been-the-belief/) [Paul Ormerod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ormerod/) > [In every novel, I write about something - a place, an experience, an emotion - with which I'm intimately familiar, but it's also crucial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/in-every-novel-i-write-about-something-a-place-an-experience-an/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) Browse all 893 Crucial quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We assert that the subject is crucial and only that subject matter is valid which is tragic and timeless.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Rothko" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/we-assert-that-the-subject-is-crucial-and-only-that-subject-matter-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crucial" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/we-assert-that-the-subject-is-crucial-and-only-that-subject-matter-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/mark-rothko-11292_crucial_we-assert-that-the-subject-is-crucial-an_2017769.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/mark-rothko-11292_crucial_we-assert-that-the-subject-is-crucial-an_2017769.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/mark-rothko-11292_crucial_we-assert-that-the-subject-is-crucial-an_2017769.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We assert that the subject is crucial and only that subject matter is valid which is tragic and timeless.” — Mark Rothko", "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": "Mark Rothko", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We assert that the subject is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/we-assert-that-the-subject-is-crucial-and-only-that-subject-matter-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/we-assert-that-the-subject-is-crucial-and-only-that-subject-matter-is/#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 } } ] } ```