--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is only one art, whose sole…" description: "\"There is only one art, whose sole criterion is the power, the authenticity, the revelatory insight, the courage and suggestiveness with which it seeks ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/vaclav-havel-2013_allegiance_there-is-only-one-art-whose-sole-criteri_1585605.jpg" --- # There is only one art, whose sole criterion is the power… ![“There is only one art, whose sole criterion is the power, the authenticity, the revelatory insight, the courage and suggestiveness with which it seeks its truth. Thus, from the standpoint of the work and its worth it is irrelevant to which political ideas the artist as a citizen claims allegiance…” quote by Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/vaclav-havel-2013_allegiance_there-is-only-one-art-whose-sole-criteri_1585605.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/vaclav-havel-2013_allegiance_there-is-only-one-art-whose-sole-criteri_1585605.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/vaclav-havel-2013_allegiance_there-is-only-one-art-whose-sole-criteri_1585605.jpg) > “There is only one art, whose sole criterion is the power, the authenticity, the revelatory insight, the courage and suggestiveness with which it seeks its truth. Thus, from the standpoint of the work and its worth it is irrelevant to which political ideas the artist as a citizen claims allegiance, which ideas he would like to serve with his work or whether he holds any such ideas at all.” [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art’s value lies in its truth‑seeking power, independent of the artist’s political stance; authenticity and courage define artistic merit. **In simple terms:** Art is judged by truth and courage, not politics. Key Takeaway Focus on artistic authenticity over ideology. Themes art truth authenticity politics Mood analytical critical Type philosophical cultural When to use this quote - creative practice - public discourse - cultural critique Key Concepts aesthetic value courage revelation Questions to Reflect On - Can art be truly apolitical? - How does political bias affect artistic reception? A Different Perspective Political context can still influence interpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allegiance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allegiance/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Authenticity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authenticity/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [There is only one Art, whose sole criterion is the power, the authenticity, the revelatory insight, the courage and suggestiveness with which it seeks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/there-is-only-one-art-whose-sole-criterion-is-the-power-the-2/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [“How did he get his ideas? “I’m enough of an artist to draw freely on my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/how-did-he-get-his-ideas-i-m-enough-of-an-artist-to-draw-freely-on-my/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [A scientist, an artist, a citizen is not like a child who needs papa methodology and mama rationality to give him security and direction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-scientist-an-artist-a-citizen-is-not-like-a-child-who-needs-papa/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The artist as citizen is here to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/the-artist-as-citizen-is-here-to-stay/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [“An idea is a very powerful thing, and political ideas or religious ideas or economic ideas have always affected and often controlled the courses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-wylie/an-idea-is-a-very-powerful-thing-and-political-ideas-or-religious/) [J.C. Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-wylie/) > [It didn't even occur to me that I could use my strong image in cinema to propagate my political ideas. To me, cinema was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijayashanti/it-didn-t-even-occur-to-me-that-i-could-use-my-strong-image-in-cinema/) [Vijayashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijayashanti/) > [“Religious ideas, supposedly private matters between man and god, are in practice always political ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religious-ideas-supposedly-private-matters-between-man-and-god-are-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“the ethical and political ideas of Locke, Rousseau and Jefferson. 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We don't do this with communism. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemi-badenoch/what-we-are-against-is-the-teaching-of-contested-political-ideas-as/) [Kemi Badenoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemi-badenoch/) ## More by Vaclav Havel > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [People who live in the post-totalitarian system know only too well that the question of whether one or several political parties are in power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian-system-know-only-too-well/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [“For by this very fact, individuals confirm the system, fulfill the system, make the system, are the system.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/for-by-this-very-fact-individuals-confirm-the-system-fulfill-the/) [Václav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Hope is not a feeling of certainty that everything ends well. 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It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/our-country-if-that-is-what-we-want-can-now-permanently-radiate-love/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [I cannot imagine that I could strive for something if I did not carry hope in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-cannot-imagine-that-i-could-strive-for-something-if-i-did-not-carry/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [People, your Government has returned to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-your-government-has-returned-to-you/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [A person who has been seduced by the consumer value system, whose identity is dissolved in an amalgam of the accouterments trappings of mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/a-person-who-has-been-seduced-by-the-consumer-value-system-whose/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Whether all is really lost or not depends entirely on whether or not I am lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/whether-all-is-really-lost-or-not-depends-entirely-on-whether-or-not/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Sober perseverance is more effective than enthusiastic emotions, which are all too capable of being transferred, with little difficulty, to something different each day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/sober-perseverance-is-more-effective-than-enthusiastic-emotions-which/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [The exercise of power is determined by thousands of interactions between the world of the powerful and that of the powerless, all the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/the-exercise-of-power-is-determined-by-thousands-of-interactions/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [It's not true that you should first think up an idea for a better world and only then "put it into practice," but, rather,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/it-s-not-true-that-you-should-first-think-up-an-idea-for-a-better/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) [Explore all 190 Vaclav Havel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) ## More Allegiance quotes > [“Maybe it begins the day you pledge allegiance, face the flag and suddenly clutch your left clavicle because you find a tender puff of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/maybe-it-begins-the-day-you-pledge-allegiance-face-the-flag-and/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [I was under the influence of the early modern masters, Fitzgerald and Steinbeck and Hemingway, especially, when I was a kid. 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