--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our fine arts were developed, their types…" description: "\"“Our fine arts were developed, their types and uses were established, in times very different from the present, by men whose power of action upon thing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/paul-valery-1464_art_our-fine-arts-were-developed-their-types_302513.jpg" --- # Our fine arts were developed, their types and uses were… ![“Our fine arts were developed, their types and uses were established, in times very different from the present, by men whose power of action upon things was insignificant in comparison with ours. But the amazing growth of our techniques, the adaptability and precision they have attained, the ideas…” quote by Paul Valéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/paul-valery-1464_art_our-fine-arts-were-developed-their-types_302513.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/paul-valery-1464_art_our-fine-arts-were-developed-their-types_302513.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/paul-valery-1464_art_our-fine-arts-were-developed-their-types_302513.jpg) > ““Our fine arts were developed, their types and uses were established, in times very different from the present, by men whose power of action upon things was insignificant in comparison with ours. But the amazing growth of our techniques, the adaptability and precision they have attained, the ideas and habits they are creating, make it a certainty that profound changes are impending in the ancient craft of the Beautiful. In all the arts there is a physical component which can no longer be considered or treated as it used to be, which cannot remain unaffected by our modern knowledge and power. For the last twenty years neither matter nor space nor time has been what it was from time immemorial. We must expect great innovations to transform the entire technique of the arts, thereby affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an amazing change in our very notion of art.”” [Paul Valéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artistic practices will be transformed by modern science, altering materials, perception, and the very concept of beauty. **In simple terms:** Science reshapes art and its meaning. Key Takeaway Embrace interdisciplinary innovation in creative work. Themes art science innovation change Mood speculative inquisitive Type philosophical forward‑looking When to use this quote - museum curation - digital media - architectural design - educational curricula - creative research Key Concepts materiality perception technological impact Questions to Reflect On - What new materials could redefine artistic expression? - How might scientific methods alter aesthetic values? A Different Perspective May underestimate the role of tradition and human intuition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affecting Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affecting-artistic-2887587/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artistic Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic-invention-1762724/) [Arts Developed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arts-developed-2887586/) [Fine arts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-arts/) [Knowledge and power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-and-power/) [Technique Arts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique-arts-2887588/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The formation of scales and of the web of harmony is a product of artistic invention, and is in no way given by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-von-helmholtz/the-formation-of-scales-and-of-the-web-of-harmony-is-a-product-of/) [Hermann von Helmholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-von-helmholtz/) > [Original artistic invention demands that even the inventor be surprised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-schaechter/original-artistic-invention-demands-that-even-the-inventor-be/) [Judith Schaechter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-schaechter/) > [It saddens me that in the 21st century, with all our knowledge and power, we are hearing more and more stories of possible extinctions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gisele-bundchen/it-saddens-me-that-in-the-21st-century-with-all-our-knowledge-and/) [Gisele Bundchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gisele-bundchen/) > [Relations of power "are indissociable from a discourse of truth, and they can neither be established nor function unless a true discourse is produced,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/relations-of-power-are-indissociable-from-a-discourse-of-truth-and/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“It's said that science will dehumanize people and turn them into numbers. That's false, tragically false. Look for yourself. This is the concentration camp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/it-s-said-that-science-will-dehumanize-people-and-turn-them-into/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [At the heart of capitalism is the unification of knowledge and power. As Friedrich Hayek, the leader of the Austrian school of economics, put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gilder/at-the-heart-of-capitalism-is-the-unification-of-knowledge-and-power/) [George Gilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gilder/) > [Knowledge is power, and for each level of knowledge, you are held responsible for how you use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/knowledge-is-power-and-for-each-level-of-knowledge-you-are-held/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [It is impossible to meditate on time and the mystery of nature without an overwhelming emotion at the limitations of human intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-impossible-to-meditate-on-time-and-the-mystery-of-nature/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [... we are obliged to produce the truth by the power that demands truth and needs it in order to function: we are constrained,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/we-are-obliged-to-produce-the-truth-by-the-power-that-demands-truth/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“THE SHADOWS Table of Contents Old Ralph Rinkelmann made his living by comic sketches, and all but lost it again by tragic poems. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-shadows-table-of-contents-old-ralph-rinkelmann-made-his-living-by/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Each of the seven chakras references different dimensional planes. It is a turnstile that leads us into different dimensions. As the kundalini rises, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/each-of-the-seven-chakras-references-different-dimensional-planes-it/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Some say knowledge is power, but that is not true. Character is power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/some-say-knowledge-is-power-but-that-is-not-true-character-is-power/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [Occupy yourself with what's in your life now. Address those situations and subjects as fully as possible with your best efforts. That is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/occupy-yourself-with-what-s-in-your-life-now-address-those-situations/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A person of knowledge and power never goes out looking for battles. All their battles are within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-person-of-knowledge-and-power-never-goes-out-looking-for-battles/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [According to Jains the soul in pure form has infiniteness in terms of its knowledge and power. These faculties are obstructed for its exhibition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virchand-gandhi/according-to-jains-the-soul-in-pure-form-has-infiniteness-in-terms-of/) [Virchand Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virchand-gandhi/) ## More by Paul Valéry > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“O Socrates, the universe cannot for one instant endure to be only what it is. It is strange to think that that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/o-socrates-the-universe-cannot-for-one-instant-endure-to-be-only-what/) [Paul Valéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [We civilizations now know ourselves mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/we-civilizations-now-know-ourselves-mortal/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [It seems to me that the soul, when alone with itself and speaking to itself, uses only a small number of words, none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/it-seems-to-me-that-the-soul-when-alone-with-itself-and-speaking-to/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Serious people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/serious-people-have-few-ideas-people-with-ideas-are-never-serious/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“I am now going to make an admission. I confess, I agree, that all these good people who protested, who laughed, who did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/i-am-now-going-to-make-an-admission-i-confess-i-agree-that-all-these/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“Degas is one of the very few painters who have given the floor its true importance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/degas-is-one-of-the-very-few-painters-who-have-given-the-floor-its/) [Paul Valéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Politics is the art of preventing people from busying themselves with what is their own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/politics-is-the-art-of-preventing-people-from-busying-themselves-with/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [God created man and, finding him not sufficiently alone, gave him a companion to make him feel his solitude more keenly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/god-created-man-and-finding-him-not-sufficiently-alone-gave-him-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The most ridiculous were those who, on their own authority, made themselves the judges and justices of the tribe. They seemed never to suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-most-ridiculous-were-those-who-on-their-own-authority-made/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The folly of mistaking oneself for an oracle is built right into us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-folly-of-mistaking-oneself-for-an-oracle-is-built-right-into-us/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Thought must be hidden in the verse like nutritional virtue in a fruit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/thought-must-be-hidden-in-the-verse-like-nutritional-virtue-in-a-fruit/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [To be sincere means to be the same person when one is with oneself; that is to say, alone - but that is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/to-be-sincere-means-to-be-the-same-person-when-one-is-with-oneself/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [No work of art is ever completed, it is only abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/no-work-of-art-is-ever-completed-it-is-only-abandoned/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Interruption, incoherence, surprise are the ordinary conditions of our life. They have even become real needs for many people, whose minds are no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/interruption-incoherence-surprise-are-the-ordinary-conditions-of-our/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) [Explore all 215 Paul Valéry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“Our fine arts were developed, their types and uses were established, in times very different from the present, by men whose power of action upon things was insignificant in comparison with ours. But the amazing growth of our techniques, the adaptability and precision they have attained, the ideas and habits they are creating, make it a certainty that profound changes are impending in the ancient craft of the Beautiful. In all the arts there is a physical component which can no longer be considered or treated as it used to be, which cannot remain unaffected by our modern knowledge and power. For the last twenty years neither matter nor space nor time has been what it was from time immemorial. We must expect great innovations to transform the entire technique of the arts, thereby affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an amazing change in our very notion of art.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Valéry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/our-fine-arts-were-developed-their-types-and-uses-were-established-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/our-fine-arts-were-developed-their-types-and-uses-were-established-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/paul-valery-1464_art_our-fine-arts-were-developed-their-types_302513.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/paul-valery-1464_art_our-fine-arts-were-developed-their-types_302513.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/paul-valery-1464_art_our-fine-arts-were-developed-their-types_302513.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our fine arts were developed, their types and uses were established, in times very different from the…” — Paul Valéry", "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": "Paul Valéry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Our fine arts were developed, their...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/our-fine-arts-were-developed-their-types-and-uses-were-established-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/our-fine-arts-were-developed-their-types-and-uses-were-established-in/#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 } } ] } ```