--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only thing that the artist cannot see…" description: "\"The only thing that the artist cannot see is the obvious. The only thing that the public can see is the obvious.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-only-thing-that-the-artist-cannot-se_763933.jpg" --- # The only thing that the artist cannot see is the obvious… ![“The only thing that the artist cannot see is the obvious. The only thing that the public can see is the obvious.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-only-thing-that-the-artist-cannot-se_763933.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-only-thing-that-the-artist-cannot-se_763933.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-only-thing-that-the-artist-cannot-se_763933.jpg) > “The only thing that the artist cannot see is the obvious. The only thing that the public can see is the obvious.” [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. Artists often overlook what is plainly evident, while the public fixates on the obvious, missing deeper insight. **In simple terms:** Artists miss the obvious; public sees only the obvious. Key Takeaway Seek deeper meaning beyond the obvious. Themes art perception communication Mood reflective critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - public debates - media analysis Key Concepts creativity visibility interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How can artists reveal hidden layers? - How does public focus limit understanding? A Different Perspective The obvious can be a distraction from nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ## Related quotes > [“The public is largely influenced by the look of a book. So are we all. It is the only artistic thing about the public.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-public-is-largely-influenced-by-the-look-of-a-book-so-are-we-all/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [There's often more than one correct thing. There's often more than one right thing. There's often more than one obvious thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/there-s-often-more-than-one-correct-thing-there-s-often-more-than-one/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Mathematics consists in proving the most obvious thing in the least obvious way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-polya/mathematics-consists-in-proving-the-most-obvious-thing-in-the-least/) [George Polya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-polya/) > [“Am I your girlfriend?” “Of course.” Like it was the most obvious thing in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-l-johnson/am-i-your-girlfriend-of-course-like-it-was-the-most-obvious-thing-in/) [Amber L. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-l-johnson/) > [When something seems ‘the most obvious thing in the world’ it means that any attempt to understand the world has been given up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/when-something-seems-the-most-obvious-thing-in-the-world-it-means/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [I'm allergic to doing the obvious thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neneh-cherry/i-m-allergic-to-doing-the-obvious-thing/) [Neneh Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neneh-cherry/) > [Be nice to each other. Not a lot, but seems like the most obvious thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-jacobson/be-nice-to-each-other-not-a-lot-but-seems-like-the-most-obvious-thing/) [Lenny Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-jacobson/) > [Keep it simple. Let's do the obvious thing -the common thing- but let's do it uncommonly well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-burnett/keep-it-simple-let-s-do-the-obvious-thing-the-common-thing-but-let-s/) [Leo Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-burnett/) > [Only recently I’ve learned, it’s an obvious thing, but it just took me a while to realize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-archuleta/only-recently-i-ve-learned-it-s-an-obvious-thing-but-it-just-took-me/) [David Archuleta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-archuleta/) > [“Is there such a thing as public good? That's all I'm asking. I mean, is your good the same as my good? I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carroll/is-there-such-a-thing-as-public-good-that-s-all-i-m-asking-i-mean-is/) [Jim Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carroll/) > [It's a special thing to be a public company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duffield/it-s-a-special-thing-to-be-a-public-company/) [David Duffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duffield/) > [Try and spread a lot of love and affection around the world. The most important thing is not to 'con' the public. Be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-harris/try-and-spread-a-lot-of-love-and-affection-around-the-world-the-most/) [Rolf Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-harris/) > [The public does not like you to mislead or represent yourself to be something you're not. And the other thing that the public really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-richards/the-public-does-not-like-you-to-mislead-or-represent-yourself-to-be/) [Ann Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-richards/) > [There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-is-no-such-thing-as-public-opinion-there-is-only-published/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I don't think anyone can say I have said one thing in public and done another in private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/i-don-t-think-anyone-can-say-i-have-said-one-thing-in-public-and-done/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) ## 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 only thing that the artist cannot see is the obvious. The only thing that the public can see is the obvious.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-only-thing-that-the-artist-cannot-see-is-the-obvious-the-only/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-only-thing-that-the-artist-cannot-see-is-the-obvious-the-only/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-only-thing-that-the-artist-cannot-se_763933.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-only-thing-that-the-artist-cannot-se_763933.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/oscar-wilde-16_art_the-only-thing-that-the-artist-cannot-se_763933.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only thing that the artist cannot see is the obvious. The only thing that the public can see is the…” — 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 only thing that the artist...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-only-thing-that-the-artist-cannot-see-is-the-obvious-the-only/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-only-thing-that-the-artist-cannot-see-is-the-obvious-the-only/#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 } } ] } ```