--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The artistic life is a long, lovely…" description: "\"The artistic life is a long, lovely suicide.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-artistic-life-is-a-long-lovely-suici_1184428.jpg" --- # The artistic life is a long, lovely suicide. ![“The artistic life is a long, lovely suicide.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-artistic-life-is-a-long-lovely-suici_1184428.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-artistic-life-is-a-long-lovely-suici_1184428.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-artistic-life-is-a-long-lovely-suici_1184428.jpg) > “The artistic life is a long, lovely suicide.” [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 statement portrays the artistic life as a beautiful yet self-destructive pursuit, highlighting its intense passion and potential for personal sacrifice. **In simple terms:** Art can be both beautiful and self‑destructive. Key Takeaway Balance creative drive with self‑care. Themes art self‑destruction beauty passion loneliness Mood melancholic reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - mental health management - creative projects - personal relationships Key Concepts aestheticism existential risk creative obsession Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries protect your wellbeing while creating? - How can society support artists without glorifying tragedy? A Different Perspective Not all artists experience suicide; the metaphor may romanticize suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) [Artistic life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) ## Related quotes > [It is fatal to one's artistic life to talk about something this is in process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/it-is-fatal-to-one-s-artistic-life-to-talk-about-something-this-is-in/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [I think for anyone who follows the 'artistic life,' a certain amount of selfishness and self-involvement is part of the package. You're probably already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chase/i-think-for-anyone-who-follows-the-artistic-life-a-certain-amount-of/) [David Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chase/) > [My whole artistic life has always been about change, change, change, move on, move on. It's the only thing I find interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/my-whole-artistic-life-has-always-been-about-change-change-change/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [The pleasure that attaches to the artistic life comes in imagining what we might do as opposed to acknowledging what we have done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-solomon/the-pleasure-that-attaches-to-the-artistic-life-comes-in-imagining/) [Deborah Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-solomon/) > [Love trumps everything. Love's decision will not always be kind to your artistic life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinita-hampton-wright/love-trumps-everything-love-s-decision-will-not-always-be-kind-to/) [Vinita Hampton Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinita-hampton-wright/) > [My whole artistic life has been devoted to battling myself and my ability to externalize my deepest emotions. As I have gotten older, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/my-whole-artistic-life-has-been-devoted-to-battling-myself-and-my/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [Religious life is not going to go away. It will take a different form. Why am I so sure it's not going to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/religious-life-is-not-going-to-go-away-it-will-take-a-different-form/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Woodstock had a tremendous impact on American artistic life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/woodstock-had-a-tremendous-impact-on-american-artistic-life/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [If you want to be a grocer, or a general, or a politician, or a judge, you will invariably become it; that is your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-you-want-to-be-a-grocer-or-a-general-or-a-politician-or-a-judge/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“To the Greeks this problem of the conditions of poetic production, and the places occupied by either spontaneity or self-consciousness in any artistic work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-the-greeks-this-problem-of-the-conditions-of-poetic-production-and/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“This is that CONSOLATION DES ARTS which is the key-note of Gautier’s poetry, the secret of modern life foreshadowed - as indeed what in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/this-is-that-consolation-des-arts-which-is-the-key-note-of-gautier-s/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Life! Life! Don't let us go to life for our fulfillment or our experience. It is a thing narrowed by circumstances, incoherent in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/life-life-don-t-let-us-go-to-life-for-our-fulfillment-or-our/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Ethics, like natural selection, make existence possible. Aesthetics, like sensual selection, make life lovely and wonderful, fill it with new forms, and give it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/ethics-like-natural-selection-make-existence-possible-aesthetics-like/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [It is a sad truth, but we have lost the faculty of giving lovely names to things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-a-sad-truth-but-we-have-lost-the-faculty-of-giving-lovely-names/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [There is no country in the world where machinery is so lovely as in America. It was not until I had seen the water-works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-is-no-country-in-the-world-where-machinery-is-so-lovely-as-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## 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": "The artistic life is a long, lovely suicide.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-artistic-life-is-a-long-lovely-suicide/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-artistic-life-is-a-long-lovely-suicide/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-artistic-life-is-a-long-lovely-suici_1184428.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-artistic-life-is-a-long-lovely-suici_1184428.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-artistic-life-is-a-long-lovely-suici_1184428.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The artistic life is a long, lovely suicide.” — 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": "The artistic life is a long,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-artistic-life-is-a-long-lovely-suicide/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-artistic-life-is-a-long-lovely-suicide/#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 } } ] } ```