--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would be most wholesome if for at…" description: "\"It would be most wholesome if for at least twenty years art historians were forbidden to refer to any derivations. If they were not allowed to account ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/rudolf-arnheim-10963_accounts_it-would-be-most-wholesome-if-for-at-lea_159971.jpg" --- # It would be most wholesome if for at least twenty years… ![“It would be most wholesome if for at least twenty years art historians were forbidden to refer to any derivations. If they were not allowed to account for a work of art mainly by tracing where it comes from, they would have to deal with it in and by itself--which is what they are most needed for.” quote by Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/rudolf-arnheim-10963_accounts_it-would-be-most-wholesome-if-for-at-lea_159971.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/rudolf-arnheim-10963_accounts_it-would-be-most-wholesome-if-for-at-lea_159971.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/rudolf-arnheim-10963_accounts_it-would-be-most-wholesome-if-for-at-lea_159971.jpg) > “It would be most wholesome if for at least twenty years art historians were forbidden to refer to any derivations. If they were not allowed to account for a work of art mainly by tracing where it comes from, they would have to deal with it in and by itself--which is what they are most needed for.” [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If art historians stopped focusing on origins, they'd engage with artworks directly, fostering deeper appreciation. **In simple terms:** Focus on the artwork itself, not its background. Key Takeaway Value the piece for its own merits. Themes art criticism direct engagement appreciation Mood contemplative inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - museum visits - art education - personal reflection Key Concepts aesthetic experience interpretation contextual independence Questions to Reflect On - How does ignoring origin affect interpretation? - Can direct engagement replace contextual knowledge? A Different Perspective May overlook historical influences that enrich understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [Art is mainly about wrestling with material reality, not striving after a spiritual ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-seerveld/art-is-mainly-about-wrestling-with-material-reality-not-striving/) [Calvin Seerveld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-seerveld/) > [Museums and galleries do recruit art historians, but they are overwhelmingly white and middle class, or else from abroad. They understandably fret about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munira-mirza/museums-and-galleries-do-recruit-art-historians-but-they-are/) [Munira Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munira-mirza/) > [When critics or art historians or curators ask me why I still paint, the answer is that I am not naive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-tuymans/when-critics-or-art-historians-or-curators-ask-me-why-i-still-paint/) [Luc Tuymans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-tuymans/) > [It doesn't upset artists to find out that artists used lenses or mirrors or other aids, but it certainly does upset the art historians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/it-doesn-t-upset-artists-to-find-out-that-artists-used-lenses-or/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [Co-operating critics comb the studios like big-league scouts, prepared to spot the art of the future and to take lead in establishing reputations. Art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-rosenberg/co-operating-critics-comb-the-studios-like-big-league-scouts-prepared/) [Harold Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-rosenberg/) > [“The art historians are the real wreckers of art, Reger said. The art historians twaddle so long about art until they have killed it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/the-art-historians-are-the-real-wreckers-of-art-reger-said-the-art/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [The future art historians are going to be software guys who are going to go into the depths of the code to find out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/the-future-art-historians-are-going-to-be-software-guys-who-are-going/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [Art historians agree that Da Vinci's paintings contain hidden levels of meaning that go well beneath the surface of the paint. 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The finality of the universe is the God Arunachala. Meditating on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/that-which-rises-and-sinks-is-made-up-of-what-it-rises-from-the/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) ## More by Rudolf Arnheim > [Order is a prerequisite of survival; therefore the impulse to produce orderly arrangements is inbred by evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/order-is-a-prerequisite-of-survival-therefore-the-impulse-to-produce/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [Seeing consists of the grasping of structural features rather than the indiscriminate recording of detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/seeing-consists-of-the-grasping-of-structural-features-rather-than/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [The dance, just as the performance of the actor, is kinesthetic art, art of the muscle sense. The awareness of tension and relaxation within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/the-dance-just-as-the-performance-of-the-actor-is-kinesthetic-art-art/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [Order is a necessary condition for anything the human mind is to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/order-is-a-necessary-condition-for-anything-the-human-mind-is-to/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [The rehabilitation of order as a universal principle, however, suggested at the same time that orderliness by itself is not sufficient to account for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/the-rehabilitation-of-order-as-a-universal-principle-however/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [Entropy theory, on the other hand, is not concerned with the probability of succession in a series of items but with the overall distribution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/entropy-theory-on-the-other-hand-is-not-concerned-with-the/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [Modem science, then, maintains on the one hand that nature, both organic and inorganic, strives towards a state of order and that man's actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/modem-science-then-maintains-on-the-one-hand-that-nature-both-organic/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [Television is a new, hard test of our wisdom. 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