--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great art has dreadful manners. The…" description: "\"Great art has dreadful manners. The greatest paintings grab you in a headlock, rough up your composure, and then proceed in short order to re-arrange y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/simon-schama-4492_art_great-art-has-dreadful-manners-the-great_1078833.jpg" --- # Great art has dreadful manners. The greatest paintings… ![“Great art has dreadful manners. The greatest paintings grab you in a headlock, rough up your composure, and then proceed in short order to re-arrange your reality.” quote by Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/simon-schama-4492_art_great-art-has-dreadful-manners-the-great_1078833.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/simon-schama-4492_art_great-art-has-dreadful-manners-the-great_1078833.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/simon-schama-4492_art_great-art-has-dreadful-manners-the-great_1078833.jpg) > “Great art has dreadful manners. The greatest paintings grab you in a headlock, rough up your composure, and then proceed in short order to re-arrange your reality.” [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great art can be forceful, disrupting your composure and reshaping your perception of reality. **In simple terms:** Art can shock and change how you see the world. Key Takeaway Allow powerful art to expand your perspective. Themes art perception transformation Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - museum visits - art education - personal reflection - creative inspiration Key Concepts aesthetic impact psychological effect Questions to Reflect On - How does powerful art affect you? - What changes in your worldview after experiencing it? A Different Perspective May overwhelm or alienate some viewers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Composure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composure/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [I have always wanted to make paintings that are impossible to walk past, paintings that grab and hold your attention. 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There is no reliable formula for originality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/writing-that-flirts-with-incoherence-can-just-as-readily-flounder-as/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) ## More by Simon Schama > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-doesn-t-have-the-life-that/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Taxation, the very thing that had triggered the British civil wars, would do so again, this time in America. The taxes may have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/taxation-the-very-thing-that-had-triggered-the-british-civil-wars/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Anyone can write an academic piece directed at other academics. 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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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