--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With art criticism it's difficult to…" description: "\"With art criticism it's difficult to discuss beauty, to assess it, because there's always the possibility that we're insane.\" — Peter Schjeldahl" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/peter-schjeldahl-12992_art_with-art-criticism-it-s-difficult-to-dis_1556273.png" --- # With art criticism it's difficult to discuss beauty, to… ![“With art criticism it's difficult to discuss beauty, to assess it, because there's always the possibility that we're insane.” quote by Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/peter-schjeldahl-12992_art_with-art-criticism-it-s-difficult-to-dis_1556273.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/peter-schjeldahl-12992_art_with-art-criticism-it-s-difficult-to-dis_1556273.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/peter-schjeldahl-12992_art_with-art-criticism-it-s-difficult-to-dis_1556273.png) > “With art criticism it's difficult to discuss beauty, to assess it, because there's always the possibility that we're insane.” [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Assessing beauty is fraught because personal perception may be unreliable, making objective judgment of art challenging. **In simple terms:** Beauty judgments are subjective and uncertain. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty in evaluating art. Themes art beauty subjectivity criticism Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - museum curation - art education - gallery talks - personal reflection Key Concepts aesthetic theory psychology of perception philosophy of art Questions to Reflect On - Can we develop shared criteria for beauty? - How does personal bias shape criticism? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on subjectivity can stall discourse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) ## Related quotes > [The more we use words that in any way imply criticism, the more difficult it is for people to stay connected to the beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/the-more-we-use-words-that-in-any-way-imply-criticism-the-more/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Remember that when criticism is difficult to accept, there is probably some truth to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-goldsmith/remember-that-when-criticism-is-difficult-to-accept-there-is-probably/) [Marshall Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-goldsmith/) > [We can't take such unfair criticism. It would be difficult for me to continue as captain if this unhealthy trend of demoralising the team…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/we-can-t-take-such-unfair-criticism-it-would-be-difficult-for-me-to/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [I don't have a very high opinion, actually, of the world of criticism - or the practice of criticism. I think I admire art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/i-don-t-have-a-very-high-opinion-actually-of-the-world-of-criticism/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [First one gets works of art, then criticism of them, then criticism of the criticism, and, finally, a book on The Literary Situation ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/first-one-gets-works-of-art-then-criticism-of-them-then-criticism-of/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. 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But any image, including a photograph, may become an instrument of sufficiently lucid cogitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/a-word-is-a-thought-of-course-but-any-image-including-a-photograph/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Artists are people who are subject to irrational convictions of the sacred. Baudelaire said that an artist is a child who has acquired adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/artists-are-people-who-are-subject-to-irrational-convictions-of-the/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [You don't need everybody to agree with you, but you do need a few people. And by this point I have a fairly high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/you-don-t-need-everybody-to-agree-with-you-but-you-do-need-a-few/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [I think being interested is really what being civilized is about. I mean, you have to be conscious of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/i-think-being-interested-is-really-what-being-civilized-is-about-i/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Beauty is a physiological reaction. Beauty is not an object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/beauty-is-a-physiological-reaction-beauty-is-not-an-object/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [I have painted enough to have a lot of respect for mediocre painters. It's really hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/i-have-painted-enough-to-have-a-lot-of-respect-for-mediocre-painters/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Artists are sometimes in a position to tell the truth, but they're positioned as a Cassandra. 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The cultivated have greater gardens, finer and gaudier gardens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/everybody-s-got-plants-but-most-are-just-growing-weeds-the-cultivated/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [I find that the mask of the critic is to have distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/i-find-that-the-mask-of-the-critic-is-to-have-distance/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Picasso had nicknamed Georges Braque "Wilbur," thereby becoming "Orville" in their Wright Brothers-like ambition to get painting off the ground of conventional representation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/picasso-had-nicknamed-georges-braque-wilbur-thereby-becoming-orville/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [All artists and creative people are basically unhappy people. 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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. 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