--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I treated Art as the supreme reality and…" description: "\"I treated Art as the supreme reality and life as a mere mode of fiction.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/oscar-wilde-16_art_i-treated-art-as-the-supreme-reality-and_1393775.jpg" --- # I treated Art as the supreme reality and life as a mere… ![“I treated Art as the supreme reality and life as a mere mode of fiction.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/oscar-wilde-16_art_i-treated-art-as-the-supreme-reality-and_1393775.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/oscar-wilde-16_art_i-treated-art-as-the-supreme-reality-and_1393775.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/oscar-wilde-16_art_i-treated-art-as-the-supreme-reality-and_1393775.jpg) > “I treated Art as the supreme reality and life as a mere mode of fiction.” [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. Art is the ultimate truth, while everyday life is merely a narrative backdrop. **In simple terms:** Art is supreme, life is a story. Key Takeaway Prioritize artistic truth over mundane narratives. Themes art reality philosophy Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - creative work - education - media criticism - personal reflection Key Concepts aesthetics existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does art shape your perception of reality? - Can everyday life be art? A Different Perspective Not everyone values art above life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Escapism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escapism/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [Art is the supreme communicator of diverse cultures and ideas in a common frame of understanding, a virtual bridge across time. It is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-j-fraughton/art-is-the-supreme-communicator-of-diverse-cultures-and-ideas-in-a/) [Edward J. Fraughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-j-fraughton/) > [The most subtle art, the strongest and deepest art - supreme art - is the one that does not at first allow itself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/the-most-subtle-art-the-strongest-and-deepest-art-supreme-art-is-the/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Leave greatness to others. Become so small that no one can see you. This conviction results from growing devotion to the supreme reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/leave-greatness-to-others-become-so-small-that-no-one-can-see-you/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of our planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-supreme-reality-of-our-time-is-the-vulnerability-of-our-planet/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [All that can be said with truth of this Absolute and Supreme Reality is that IT IS. This must suffice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-regardie/all-that-can-be-said-with-truth-of-this-absolute-and-supreme-reality/) [Israel Regardie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-regardie/) > [The supreme vice is shallowness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-supreme-vice-is-shallowness/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Society takes upon itself the right to inflict appalling punishment on the individual, but it also has the supreme vice of shallowness, and fails…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/society-takes-upon-itself-the-right-to-inflict-appalling-punishment-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [If Al Gore had allowed us and if the Florida Supreme Court had not intervened and rewritten the law, which they're not supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-harris/if-al-gore-had-allowed-us-and-if-the-florida-supreme-court-had-not/) [Katherine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-harris/) > [That beauty which is meant by art is no mere accident of human life which people can take or leave, but a positive necessity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/that-beauty-which-is-meant-by-art-is-no-mere-accident-of-human-life/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Words! Mere words! How terrible they were! How clear, and vivid, and cruel! One could not escape from them. And yet what a subtle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/words-mere-words-how-terrible-they-were-how-clear-and-vivid-and-cruel/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“you are the creator of your reality, and life can show up no other way for you than that way in which you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/you-are-the-creator-of-your-reality-and-life-can-show-up-no-other-way/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [I don't like dreams or reality. I like when dreams become reality because that is my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-gaultier/i-don-t-like-dreams-or-reality-i-like-when-dreams-become-reality/) [Jean Paul Gaultier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-gaultier/) > [“Further, in the modern story, reality is that which is observable, measurable, and repeatable - the kinds of phenomena available, accessible, and verifiable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-keel/further-in-the-modern-story-reality-is-that-which-is-observable/) [Tim Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-keel/) > [“Sometimes I think of my life as a sitcom. But in reality, life is more than a series of memorable events that bring out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-angle/sometimes-i-think-of-my-life-as-a-sitcom-but-in-reality-life-is-more/) Dorothy Angle > [“Reality is negotiable. Outside of science and law, all rules can be bent or broken, and it doesn’t require being unethical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/reality-is-negotiable-outside-of-science-and-law-all-rules-can-be/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) ## 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 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": "I treated Art as the supreme reality and life as a mere mode of fiction.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-treated-art-as-the-supreme-reality-and-life-as-a-mere-mode-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-treated-art-as-the-supreme-reality-and-life-as-a-mere-mode-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/oscar-wilde-16_art_i-treated-art-as-the-supreme-reality-and_1393775.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/oscar-wilde-16_art_i-treated-art-as-the-supreme-reality-and_1393775.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/oscar-wilde-16_art_i-treated-art-as-the-supreme-reality-and_1393775.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I treated Art as the supreme reality and life as a mere mode of fiction.” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I treated Art as the supreme...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-treated-art-as-the-supreme-reality-and-life-as-a-mere-mode-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-treated-art-as-the-supreme-reality-and-life-as-a-mere-mode-of/#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 } } ] } ```