--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am jealous of everything whose beauty…" description: "\"I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. I am jealous of the portrait you have painted of me. Why should it keep what I must lose? Every m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_i-am-jealous-of-everything-whose-beauty_164104.jpg" --- # I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. I am… ![“I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. I am jealous of the portrait you have painted of me. Why should it keep what I must lose? Every moment that passes takes something from me and gives something to it. Oh, if it were only the other way! If the picture could change, and I could be…” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_i-am-jealous-of-everything-whose-beauty_164104.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_i-am-jealous-of-everything-whose-beauty_164104.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/oscar-wilde-16_beauty_i-am-jealous-of-everything-whose-beauty_164104.jpg) > “I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. I am jealous of the portrait you have painted of me. Why should it keep what I must lose? Every moment that passes takes something from me and gives something to it. Oh, if it were only the other way! If the picture could change, and I could be always what I am now! Why did you paint it? It will mock me some day—mock me horribly!” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker envies timeless beauty and fears mortality, wishing the painted self could remain unchanged while life erodes. **In simple terms:** Jealousy of lasting art versus fleeting life. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence, cherish present. Themes mortality art jealousy identity time change Mood melancholic reflective poignant Type literary philosophical emotional When to use this quote - grief over aging - artist confronting legacy - personal reflection on aging - desire for permanence Key Concepts existentialism aestheticism impermanence Questions to Reflect On - How does art help you confront mortality? - What does it mean to accept change? A Different Perspective Art cannot halt time; longing for permanence may hinder living fully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Die Jealous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die-jealous-1793898/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Every moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-moment/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [I am jealous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-am-jealous/) [Jealous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealous/) [Jealous Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealous-beauty-1793896/) [Jealous Portrait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealous-portrait-1793895/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Paint Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-mock-1793897/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Portraits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portraits/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-am-jealous-of-everything-whose-beauty-does-not-die/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Ivies are jealous; when they see a beauty, they try to cover them up, but the result is that that beauty becomes even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/ivies-are-jealous-when-they-see-a-beauty-they-try-to-cover-them-up/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [And yes, I'll admit, I am jealous. I'm jealous of every minute you spend with him, of every concerned expression you send his way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-houck/and-yes-i-ll-admit-i-am-jealous-i-m-jealous-of-every-minute-you-spend/) [Colleen Houck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-houck/) > [I am jealous of anyone who can make other people care so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-am-jealous-of-anyone-who-can-make-other-people-care-so-much/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Don't be upset. Don't listen to me. I only meant that I am jealous of a dark, unconscious element, something irrational, unfathomable. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/don-t-be-upset-don-t-listen-to-me-i-only-meant-that-i-am-jealous-of-a/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [As far as your ego is concerned and your jealousy is concerned, my whole work here is to help you become so loving that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/as-far-as-your-ego-is-concerned-and-your-jealousy-is-concerned-my/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [But I must confess I am jealous of the term atom; for though it is very easy to talk of atoms, it is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/but-i-must-confess-i-am-jealous-of-the-term-atom-for-though-it-is/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [Too often I am jealous and my jealousy leads me to say things-things-that I regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mosse/too-often-i-am-jealous-and-my-jealousy-leads-me-to-say-things-things/) [Kate Mosse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mosse/) > [O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-beware-my-lord-of-jealousy-it-is-the-green-ey-d-monster-which-doth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Awareness is fire; it burns all that is wrong in you. It burns your ego. It burns your greed, it burns your possessiveness, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/awareness-is-fire-it-burns-all-that-is-wrong-in-you-it-burns-your-ego/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Is there a choice in life? It's always been like this. I am jealous that you have a lot of leisure and free time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yao-ming/is-there-a-choice-in-life-it-s-always-been-like-this-i-am-jealous/) [Yao Ming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yao-ming/) > [I am jealous of all those people who live on the shore of Dal Lake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/i-am-jealous-of-all-those-people-who-live-on-the-shore-of-dal-lake/) [Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/) > [As a jealous man, I suffer four times over: because I am jealous, because I blame myself for being so, because I fear that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/as-a-jealous-man-i-suffer-four-times-over-because-i-am-jealous/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Know that whoever is trying to bring you down, is already below you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boonaa-mohammed/know-that-whoever-is-trying-to-bring-you-down-is-already-below-you/) [Boonaa Mohammed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boonaa-mohammed/) > [I'm honestly not jealous of my wife at all - when she succeeds I'm psyched. It never occurred to me to feel threatened by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-noxon/i-m-honestly-not-jealous-of-my-wife-at-all-when-she-succeeds-i-m/) [Christopher Noxon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-noxon/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. I am jealous of the portrait you have painted of me. Why should it keep what I must lose? Every moment that passes takes something from me and gives something to it. Oh, if it were only the other way! If the picture could change, and I could be always what I am now! Why did you paint it? 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