--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is possible to call Tolstoy Kitsch." description: "\"It is possible to call Tolstoy Kitsch.\" — Robert Scholes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/robert-scholes-66236_kitsch_it-is-possible-to-call-tolstoy-kitsch-74_749310.jpg" --- # It is possible to call Tolstoy Kitsch. ![“It is possible to call Tolstoy Kitsch.” quote by Robert Scholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/robert-scholes-66236_kitsch_it-is-possible-to-call-tolstoy-kitsch-74_749310.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/robert-scholes-66236_kitsch_it-is-possible-to-call-tolstoy-kitsch-74_749310.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/robert-scholes-66236_kitsch_it-is-possible-to-call-tolstoy-kitsch-74_749310.jpg) > “It is possible to call Tolstoy Kitsch.” [Robert Scholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scholes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Labeling Tolstoy as kitsch challenges conventional aesthetic judgments. **In simple terms:** Calling Tolstoy kitsch questions taste standards. Key Takeaway Reevaluate assumptions about high and low art. Themes aesthetics literary criticism cultural hierarchy Mood analytical critical Type philosophical inquisitive When to use this quote - Academic curricula - museum curation - public debates - media reviews Key Concepts Kitsch canon formation taste theory Questions to Reflect On - What criteria define kitsch in literature? - Can a masterpiece also be kitsch? A Different Perspective Risk of oversimplifying complex works. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Kitsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kitsch/) [Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible/) [Possible Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-tolstoy-5833161/) [Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolstoy/) [Tolstoy Kitsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolstoy-kitsch-5833160/) ## Related quotes > [Kitsch of course only comes into existence when we recognize how and why it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bayley/kitsch-of-course-only-comes-into-existence-when-we-recognize-how-and/) [John Bayley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bayley/) > [“A taste for kitsch among the well-to-do is a sign of spiritual impoverishment; but among the poor, it represents a striving for beauty, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/a-taste-for-kitsch-among-the-well-to-do-is-a-sign-of-spiritual/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [A real Rembrandt hung in a millionaire's home elevator would undoubtedly make for kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matei-calinescu/a-real-rembrandt-hung-in-a-millionaire-s-home-elevator-would/) [Matei Calinescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matei-calinescu/) > [A kitsch novel describes the world not as it really is, but as it is hoped and feared to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-broch/a-kitsch-novel-describes-the-world-not-as-it-really-is-but-as-it-is/) [Hermann Broch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-broch/) > [Kitsch is very important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oneohtrix-point-never/kitsch-is-very-important-to-me/) [Oneohtrix Point Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oneohtrix-point-never/) > [Modern art was born from a desire to destroy kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/modern-art-was-born-from-a-desire-to-destroy-kitsch/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [I did my homework and didn't go out much, and had a very highly developed kitsch fantasy life where I dreamed of being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/i-did-my-homework-and-didn-t-go-out-much-and-had-a-very-highly/) [Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/) > [The peasant finds no "natural" urgency within himself that will drive him toward Picasso in spite of all difficulties. In the end the peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-peasant-finds-no-natural-urgency-within-himself-that-will-drive/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [If you speak of beauty, you are at once suspected of...kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/if-you-speak-of-beauty-you-are-at-once-suspected-of-kitsch/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [Those who were still able to write beautiful melodies were kitsch composers like Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky approaches true art not in his numerous beautiful melodies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/those-who-were-still-able-to-write-beautiful-melodies-were-kitsch/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Her kitsch was the image of home, all peace, quiet, and harmony, and ruled by a loving mother and a wise father. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/her-kitsch-was-the-image-of-home-all-peace-quiet-and-harmony-and/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Architectural kitsch is most common in the commercial pop vernacular - typified by the Big Duck of 1931 in Flanders, New York, a Long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architectural-kitsch-is-most-common-in-the-commercial-pop-vernacular/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [If you can't take the kitsch, get out of the kitchen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/if-you-can-t-take-the-kitsch-get-out-of-the-kitchen/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [Salvador Dali has been called kitsch, but, although some of this work may be grotesque, its brazenly self-conscious bad taste saves it from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-dutton/salvador-dali-has-been-called-kitsch-but-although-some-of-this-work/) [Denis Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-dutton/) > [Kitsch is the daily art of our time, as the vase or the hymn was for earlier generations. For the sensibility it has that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-rosenberg/kitsch-is-the-daily-art-of-our-time-as-the-vase-or-the-hymn-was-for/) [Harold Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-rosenberg/) ## More by Robert Scholes > [“All writing, all composition, is construction. we do not imitate the world, we construct versions of it. there is no mimesis, only poesis. no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scholes/all-writing-all-composition-is-construction-we-do-not-imitate-the/) [Robert Scholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scholes/) > [Writing is not a mystery. It is a craft like any other, and it can be learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scholes/writing-is-not-a-mystery-it-is-a-craft-like-any-other-and-it-can-be/) [Robert Scholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scholes/) > [The forms of the short, written poem as they have been developed in English over the past few centuries can be usefully seen as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scholes/the-forms-of-the-short-written-poem-as-they-have-been-developed-in/) [Robert Scholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scholes/) [Explore all 4 Robert Scholes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scholes/) ## More Kitsch quotes > [Kitsch of course only comes into existence when we recognize how and why it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bayley/kitsch-of-course-only-comes-into-existence-when-we-recognize-how-and/) [John Bayley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bayley/) > [Salvador Dali has been called kitsch, but, although some of this work may be grotesque, its brazenly self-conscious bad taste saves it from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-dutton/salvador-dali-has-been-called-kitsch-but-although-some-of-this-work/) [Denis Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-dutton/) > [If you can't take the kitsch, get out of the kitchen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/if-you-can-t-take-the-kitsch-get-out-of-the-kitchen/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [Architectural kitsch is most common in the commercial pop vernacular - typified by the Big Duck of 1931 in Flanders, New York, a Long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architectural-kitsch-is-most-common-in-the-commercial-pop-vernacular/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [Her kitsch was the image of home, all peace, quiet, and harmony, and ruled by a loving mother and a wise father. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/her-kitsch-was-the-image-of-home-all-peace-quiet-and-harmony-and/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Those who were still able to write beautiful melodies were kitsch composers like Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky approaches true art not in his numerous beautiful melodies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/those-who-were-still-able-to-write-beautiful-melodies-were-kitsch/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [If you speak of beauty, you are at once suspected of...kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/if-you-speak-of-beauty-you-are-at-once-suspected-of-kitsch/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [The peasant finds no "natural" urgency within himself that will drive him toward Picasso in spite of all difficulties. In the end the peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-peasant-finds-no-natural-urgency-within-himself-that-will-drive/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [I did my homework and didn't go out much, and had a very highly developed kitsch fantasy life where I dreamed of being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/i-did-my-homework-and-didn-t-go-out-much-and-had-a-very-highly/) [Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/) > [Modern art was born from a desire to destroy kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/modern-art-was-born-from-a-desire-to-destroy-kitsch/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Kitsch is very important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oneohtrix-point-never/kitsch-is-very-important-to-me/) [Oneohtrix Point Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oneohtrix-point-never/) > [A kitsch novel describes the world not as it really is, but as it is hoped and feared to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-broch/a-kitsch-novel-describes-the-world-not-as-it-really-is-but-as-it-is/) [Hermann Broch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-broch/) > [A real Rembrandt hung in a millionaire's home elevator would undoubtedly make for kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matei-calinescu/a-real-rembrandt-hung-in-a-millionaire-s-home-elevator-would/) [Matei Calinescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matei-calinescu/) > [“A taste for kitsch among the well-to-do is a sign of spiritual impoverishment; but among the poor, it represents a striving for beauty, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/a-taste-for-kitsch-among-the-well-to-do-is-a-sign-of-spiritual/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [Kitsch is the daily art of our time, as the vase or the hymn was for earlier generations. For the sensibility it has that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-rosenberg/kitsch-is-the-daily-art-of-our-time-as-the-vase-or-the-hymn-was-for/) [Harold Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-rosenberg/) [Browse all 144 Kitsch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kitsch/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is possible to call Tolstoy Kitsch.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Scholes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scholes/it-is-possible-to-call-tolstoy-kitsch/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Kitsch" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scholes/it-is-possible-to-call-tolstoy-kitsch/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/robert-scholes-66236_kitsch_it-is-possible-to-call-tolstoy-kitsch-74_749310.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/robert-scholes-66236_kitsch_it-is-possible-to-call-tolstoy-kitsch-74_749310.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/robert-scholes-66236_kitsch_it-is-possible-to-call-tolstoy-kitsch-74_749310.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is possible to call Tolstoy Kitsch.” — Robert Scholes", "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": "Robert Scholes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scholes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is possible to call Tolstoy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scholes/it-is-possible-to-call-tolstoy-kitsch/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scholes/it-is-possible-to-call-tolstoy-kitsch/#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 } } ] } ```