--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps there may come into my art also…" description: "\"Perhaps there may come into my art also, no less than into my life, a still deeper note, one of greater unity of passion, and directness of impulse. No..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/oscar-wilde-16_aesthetic_perhaps-there-may-come-into-my-art-also_1173408.jpg" --- # Perhaps there may come into my art also, no less than into… ![“Perhaps there may come into my art also, no less than into my life, a still deeper note, one of greater unity of passion, and directness of impulse. Not width but intensity is the true aim of modern art. We are no longer in art concerned with the type. It is with the exception that we have to do…” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/oscar-wilde-16_aesthetic_perhaps-there-may-come-into-my-art-also_1173408.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/oscar-wilde-16_aesthetic_perhaps-there-may-come-into-my-art-also_1173408.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/oscar-wilde-16_aesthetic_perhaps-there-may-come-into-my-art-also_1173408.jpg) > “Perhaps there may come into my art also, no less than into my life, a still deeper note, one of greater unity of passion, and directness of impulse. Not width but intensity is the true aim of modern art. We are no longer in art concerned with the type. It is with the exception that we have to do. I cannot put my sufferings into any form they took, I need hardly say. Art only begins where Imitation ends, but something must come into my work, of fuller memory of words perhaps, of richer cadences, of more curious effects, of simpler architectural order, of some aesthetic quality at any rate.” [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. Wilde argues that modern art should prioritize intensity over breadth, seeking deeper unity and direct impulse rather than mere imitation. **In simple terms:** Modern art should focus on depth and intensity, not just variety. Key Takeaway Embrace intensity and authentic expression in creative work. Themes art intensity authenticity modernism creativity Mood reflective critical inspirational Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - painting - writing - music composition - performance art - creative workshops Key Concepts aesthetic theory expressive depth artistic intent Questions to Reflect On - How can artists balance intensity with accessibility? - What does “true aim” mean for contemporary creators? A Different Perspective Intensity may alienate audiences accustomed to traditional forms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Cadence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cadence/) [Intensity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intensity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Modern art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-art/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unity/) ## Related quotes > [“Happiness contracted by the cold, forced to withdraw into itself, to close into its heart, it is there that I find the greatest intensity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/happiness-contracted-by-the-cold-forced-to-withdraw-into-itself-to/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is no longer art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be-explained-it-is-no-longer-art/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and there is no longer art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/art-is-the-accomplice-of-love-take-love-away-and-there-is-no-longer/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [When Art becomes a Science it is no longer an Art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-art-becomes-a-science-it-is-no-longer-an-art/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is a question of nerves, and fibres, and slowly built-up cells in which thought hides itself and passion has its dreams. You may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/life-is-a-question-of-nerves-and-fibres-and-slowly-built-up-cells-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [You've got to appreciate the things that come from the art of the Negro and from the heart of the man farthest down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-christopher-handy/you-ve-got-to-appreciate-the-things-that-come-from-the-art-of-the/) [William Christopher Handy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-christopher-handy/) > [When you come up in the art world, whatevers in the air, the issues of the moment, end up becoming part of the working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/when-you-come-up-in-the-art-world-whatevers-in-the-air-the-issues-of/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [I never expected to sell my art. It wasn't like today where you come out of art school and they promise you a future.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-ruscha/i-never-expected-to-sell-my-art-it-wasn-t-like-today-where-you-come/) [Edward Ruscha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-ruscha/) > [Machines have come, art has fled, and I am far from thinking photography can help us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/machines-have-come-art-has-fled-and-i-am-far-from-thinking/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [If you come from art, you'll always be art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/if-you-come-from-art-you-ll-always-be-art/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We want to see the newest things. That is because we want to see the future, even if only momentarily. It is the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takashi-murakami/we-want-to-see-the-newest-things-that-is-because-we-want-to-see-the/) [Takashi Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takashi-murakami/) > [For me, art really starts with acceptance, self trust. Wherever you come to with art, its perfect. You dont have to come with anything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/for-me-art-really-starts-with-acceptance-self-trust-wherever-you-come-2/) [Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/) > [For me, art really starts with acceptance, self trust. Wherever you come to with art, it's perfect. You don't have to come with anything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/for-me-art-really-starts-with-acceptance-self-trust-wherever-you-come/) [Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/) > [So much of our culture is bought and manufactured - not to say great art can't come out of that. Some art is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mcclanahan/so-much-of-our-culture-is-bought-and-manufactured-not-to-say-great/) [Scott McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mcclanahan/) > [Do you come to art to be comforted, or do you come to art to be re-skinned?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/do-you-come-to-art-to-be-comforted-or-do-you-come-to-art-to-be-re/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) ## 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 Aesthetic quotes > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-thinking-critically-about-my-aesthetic-i/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in trying to imagine the unimaginable and failing, if you are a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/there-is-a-certain-aesthetic-pleasure-in-trying-to-imagine-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I try to get the hip-hop aesthetic, most times without an MC. I don't use a rapper or a DJ to give it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/i-try-to-get-the-hip-hop-aesthetic-most-times-without-an-mc-i-don-t/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) > [It's so important what you're doing in your life. It's tremendously important to the work, and no aesthetic theories take that into account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maus/it-s-so-important-what-you-re-doing-in-your-life-it-s-tremendously/) [John Maus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maus/) > [It is not necessary to have an extravagant food budget in order to serve things with variety and tastefully cooked. It is not necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/it-is-not-necessary-to-have-an-extravagant-food-budget-in-order-to/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal. Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful. Here the aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/art-is-realistic-when-it-strives-to-express-an-ethical-ideal-realism/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I had always wanted to expand to beauty, but I knew I wanted to be able to translate my design aesthetic in an authentic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-ronson/i-had-always-wanted-to-expand-to-beauty-but-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be/) [Charlotte Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-ronson/) > [I wanted the press to become something of a movement. Not a movement committed to a particular 'ism', but a gathering together of writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-metcalf/i-wanted-the-press-to-become-something-of-a-movement-not-a-movement/) John Metcalf [Browse all 953 Aesthetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Perhaps there may come into my art also, no less than into my life, a still deeper note, one of greater unity of passion, and directness of impulse. Not width but intensity is the true aim of modern art. We are no longer in art concerned with the type. It is with the exception that we have to do. I cannot put my sufferings into any form they took, I need hardly say. 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