--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the fine arts, as in many other…" description: "\"In the fine arts, as in many other things, we know well only what we have not learned.\" — Nicolas Chamfort" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/nicolas-chamfort-2263_art_in-the-fine-arts-as-in-many-other-things_2750630.png" --- # In the fine arts, as in many other things, we know well… ![“In the fine arts, as in many other things, we know well only what we have not learned.” quote by Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/nicolas-chamfort-2263_art_in-the-fine-arts-as-in-many-other-things_2750630.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/nicolas-chamfort-2263_art_in-the-fine-arts-as-in-many-other-things_2750630.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/nicolas-chamfort-2263_art_in-the-fine-arts-as-in-many-other-things_2750630.png) > “In the fine arts, as in many other things, we know well only what we have not learned.” [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In fine arts, true knowledge often comes from recognizing what one hasn’t learned. **In simple terms:** Awareness of ignorance drives learning. Key Takeaway Embrace humility to expand expertise. Themes education humility self‑awareness Mood philosophical encouraging Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - art criticism - skill development - personal growth Key Concepts metacognition continuous learning Questions to Reflect On - What gaps do you notice? - How to seek new knowledge? A Different Perspective Ego can block progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Fine arts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-arts/) ## Related quotes > [You may wish you knew then what you know now, but remember sometimes... the things you know now were learned from what you didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-amshey/you-may-wish-you-knew-then-what-you-know-now-but-remember-sometimes/) [Terri Amshey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-amshey/) > [The Whole Business of Man is The Arts, & All Things Common.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-whole-business-of-man-is-the-arts-all-things-common/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The arts are the only things that separate us from the other animals. The arts are not decorative. ... They are essential to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/the-arts-are-the-only-things-that-separate-us-from-the-other-animals/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Funding for sports (and the arts) are often the first things facing the chop in difficult times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-powell/funding-for-sports-and-the-arts-are-often-the-first-things-facing-the/) [Lucy Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-powell/) > [Everything I know, I learned from dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/everything-i-know-i-learned-from-dogs/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [It was a sad thing. I don't know how he learned that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-sands/it-was-a-sad-thing-i-don-t-know-how-he-learned-that/) [Julian Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-sands/) > [All I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten. Share everything ... Don't hit people ... Clean up your own mess ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/all-i-ever-needed-to-know-i-learned-in-kindergarten-share-everything/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [Those who know are not learned. Those who are learned do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/those-who-know-are-not-learned-those-who-are-learned-do-not-know/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [It is the special privilege of the fine artist to reveal immediate data with a clarity, intensity and purity that promotes them to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-tobey/it-is-the-special-privilege-of-the-fine-artist-to-reveal-immediate/) [Alton Tobey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-tobey/) > [Some people's photography is an art. Not mine. Art is a dirty word in photography. All this fine art crap is killing it already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-newton/some-people-s-photography-is-an-art-not-mine-art-is-a-dirty-word-in/) [Helmut Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-newton/) > [I came to New York to be a fine artist - that was my ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-came-to-new-york-to-be-a-fine-artist-that-was-my-ambition/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [A creative life is an amplified life. It's a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/a-creative-life-is-an-amplified-life-it-s-a-bigger-life-a-happier/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I went to college as a theater major. But after about three weeks of that, I changed to the school of fine arts as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-fogelberg/i-went-to-college-as-a-theater-major-but-after-about-three-weeks-of/) [Dan Fogelberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-fogelberg/) > [Poetry is one of the original arts, and it began, as did all the fine arts, within the original wilderness of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/poetry-is-one-of-the-original-arts-and-it-began-as-did-all-the-fine/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Comedy, although it is not one of the fine arts - it's a vulgar art, it's one of the people's arts, it's the spoken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/comedy-although-it-is-not-one-of-the-fine-arts-it-s-a-vulgar-art-it-s/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) ## More by Nicolas Chamfort > [Men of reason have endured;men of passion have lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/men-of-reason-have-endured-men-of-passion-have-lived/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Contact with the world either breaks or hardens the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/contact-with-the-world-either-breaks-or-hardens-the-heart/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Of all days, the day on which one has not laughed is the one most surely wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/of-all-days-the-day-on-which-one-has-not-laughed-is-the-one-most/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Nature never said to me: Do not be poor; still less did she say: Be rich; her cry to me was always: Be independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/nature-never-said-to-me-do-not-be-poor-still-less-did-she-say-be-rich/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [It is commonly supposed that the art of pleasing is a wonderful aid in the pursuit of fortune; but the art of being bored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/it-is-commonly-supposed-that-the-art-of-pleasing-is-a-wonderful-aid/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [How many fools does it take to make up a public?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/how-many-fools-does-it-take-to-make-up-a-public/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [The poor are the blacks of Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/the-poor-are-the-blacks-of-europe/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [It is with happiness as with watches: the less complicated, the less easily deranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/it-is-with-happiness-as-with-watches-the-less-complicated-the-less/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [A modicum of discord is the very spice of courtship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/a-modicum-of-discord-is-the-very-spice-of-courtship/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Tragedy has the great moral defect of giving too much importance to life and death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/tragedy-has-the-great-moral-defect-of-giving-too-much-importance-to/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Men's hearts and faces are always wide asunder; women's are not only in close connection, but are mirror-like in the instant power of reflection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/men-s-hearts-and-faces-are-always-wide-asunder-women-s-are-not-only/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [I only study the things I like; I apply my mind only to matters that interest me. They'll be useful-or useless-to me or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/i-only-study-the-things-i-like-i-apply-my-mind-only-to-matters-that/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Contemptuous people are sure to be contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/contemptuous-people-are-sure-to-be-contemptible/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Do not suppose opportunity will knock twice at your door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/do-not-suppose-opportunity-will-knock-twice-at-your-door/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Sometimes apparent resemblance of character will bring two men together and for a certain time unite them. But their mistake gradually becomes evident, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/sometimes-apparent-resemblance-of-character-will-bring-two-men/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) [Explore all 169 Nicolas Chamfort quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) ## 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": "In the fine arts, as in many other things, we know well only what we have not learned.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicolas Chamfort" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/in-the-fine-arts-as-in-many-other-things-we-know-well-only-what-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/in-the-fine-arts-as-in-many-other-things-we-know-well-only-what-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/nicolas-chamfort-2263_art_in-the-fine-arts-as-in-many-other-things_2750630.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/nicolas-chamfort-2263_art_in-the-fine-arts-as-in-many-other-things_2750630.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/nicolas-chamfort-2263_art_in-the-fine-arts-as-in-many-other-things_2750630.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the fine arts, as in many other things, we know well only what we have not learned.” — Nicolas Chamfort", "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": "Nicolas Chamfort", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the fine arts, as in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/in-the-fine-arts-as-in-many-other-things-we-know-well-only-what-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/in-the-fine-arts-as-in-many-other-things-we-know-well-only-what-we/#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 } } ] } ```