--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing could be less conducive to…" description: "\"“Nothing could be less conducive to reaching an art-work than critical remarks:it's always simply a matter of more or less fortunate misunderstandings...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/rainer-maria-rilke-193_art_nothing-could-be-less-conducive-to-reach_2494576.jpg" --- # Nothing could be less conducive to reaching an art-work… ![“Nothing could be less conducive to reaching an art-work than critical remarks:it's always simply a matter of more or less fortunate misunderstandings. Everything cannot be so easily grasped and conveyed as we are generally led to believe; most events are unconveyable and come to pass in a space…” quote by Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/rainer-maria-rilke-193_art_nothing-could-be-less-conducive-to-reach_2494576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/rainer-maria-rilke-193_art_nothing-could-be-less-conducive-to-reach_2494576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/rainer-maria-rilke-193_art_nothing-could-be-less-conducive-to-reach_2494576.jpg) > ““Nothing could be less conducive to reaching an art-work than critical remarks:it's always simply a matter of more or less fortunate misunderstandings. Everything cannot be so easily grasped and conveyed as we are generally led to believe; most events are unconveyable and come to pass in a space that no word has ever penetrated; more unconveyable than all else are art-works, whose mysterious existences, whose lives run alongside ours, which perishes, whereas theirs endure.”” [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art emerges from misunderstandings and ineffable experiences; it transcends language and endures beyond human life. **In simple terms:** Art is mysterious, beyond words, and lasts longer than us. Key Takeaway Embrace the mystery and limits of expression. Themes art philosophy existence Mood reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative practice - art criticism - personal reflection Key Concepts mystery transcendence communication Questions to Reflect On - How does mystery enhance or hinder appreciation? - Can art ever be fully understood? A Different Perspective Art may be inaccessible to many, limiting its impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Critical Remarks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical-remarks-999365/) [Fortunate Misunderstandings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortunate-misunderstandings-845189/) [Less fortunate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/less-fortunate/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Misunderstandings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misunderstandings/) [Reaching Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reaching-art-999366/) [Remarks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remarks/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing touches a work of art so little as words of criticism: they always result in more or less fortunate misunderstandings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/nothing-touches-a-work-of-art-so-little-as-words-of-criticism-they/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Critical remarks are only made by people who love you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-mayor-zaragoza/critical-remarks-are-only-made-by-people-who-love-you/) [Federico Mayor Zaragoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-mayor-zaragoza/) > [...art must must carry man's craving for the ideal, must be an expression of his reaching out towards it; that art must give man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/art-must-must-carry-man-s-craving-for-the-ideal-must-be-an-expression/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [“I certainly didn't concur with Edward on everything, but I was damned if I would hear him abused without saying a word. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-certainly-didn-t-concur-with-edward-on-everything-but-i-was-damned/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Fame — the aggregate of all the misunderstandings that collect around a new name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/fame-the-aggregate-of-all-the-misunderstandings-that-collect-around-a/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Nothing touches a work of art so little as words of criticism: they always result in more or less fortunate misunderstandings. Things aren't all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/nothing-touches-a-work-of-art-so-little-as-words-of-criticism-they-2/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [One might have thought that 70 years was time enough to work out what really happened in 1939. It isn't the case. Misunderstandings and misinformation abound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-davies/one-might-have-thought-that-70-years-was-time-enough-to-work-out-what/) [Norman Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-davies/) > [Sometimes misunderstandings between bloggers and the MSM are the result of simple ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/sometimes-misunderstandings-between-bloggers-and-the-msm-are-the/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Narratively speaking, innocent misunderstandings are disappointing. Arbitrary events are also disappointing. The stories that really grab our attention involve not accidents but people doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/narratively-speaking-innocent-misunderstandings-are-disappointing/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [Our forms of government - though both cast in the democratic pattern - are greatly different. 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It gets even more challenging when working across virtual settings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-arroyo/friction-and-misunderstandings-often-occur-when-communicating-across/) [Raymond Arroyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-arroyo/) > [“I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/i-shall-look-at-you-out-of-the-corner-of-my-eye-and-you-will-say/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Acknowledged differences may create mutual respect, but hazy misunderstandings bring forth nothing but prejudice and rejection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/acknowledged-differences-may-create-mutual-respect-but-hazy/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) ## More by Rainer Maria Rilke > [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Out of infinite longings rise finite deeds like weak fountains, falling back just in time and trembling. And yet, what otherwise remains silent, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/out-of-infinite-longings-rise-finite-deeds-like-weak-fountains/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“I love the dark hours of my being. My mind deepens into them. 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Things will not abandon you. The nights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-there-is-nothing-you-can-share-with-other-people-try-to-be-close/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [To be here is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/to-be-here-is-immense/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Sin is the most wonderfully roundabout path to God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/sin-is-the-most-wonderfully-roundabout-path-to-god/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Swells, Marina? we ocean, depths, Marina? we sky!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/swells-marina-we-ocean-depths-marina-we-sky/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-point-of-marriage-is-not-to-create-a-quick-commonality-by-tearing/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [You life will find its own paths... and that they be good, rich, and wide is what I wish for you, more than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/you-life-will-find-its-own-paths-and-that-they-be-good-rich-and-wide/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [I do not want to be folded for where I am folded, there I am a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-do-not-want-to-be-folded-for-where-i-am-folded-there-i-am-a-lie/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/at-no-other-time-than-autumn-does-the-earth-let-itself-be-inhaled-in/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“That is why the sadness passes: the new presence inside us, the presence that has been added, has entered our heart, has gone into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/that-is-why-the-sadness-passes-the-new-presence-inside-us-the/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms, like books written in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/have-patience-with-everything-that-remains-unsolved-in-your-heart-try/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) [Explore all 861 Rainer Maria Rilke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## 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. 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