--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A great artist is a great man in a great…" description: "\"A great artist is a great man in a great child.\" — Victor Hugo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/victor-hugo-32_art_a-great-artist-is-a-great-man-in-a-great_635783.jpg" --- # A great artist is a great man in a great child. ![“A great artist is a great man in a great child.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/victor-hugo-32_art_a-great-artist-is-a-great-man-in-a-great_635783.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/victor-hugo-32_art_a-great-artist-is-a-great-man-in-a-great_635783.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/victor-hugo-32_art_a-great-artist-is-a-great-man-in-a-great_635783.jpg) > “A great artist is a great man in a great child.” [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness in art reflects greatness in character, rooted in childlike wonder. **In simple terms:** Great artists retain childlike spirit. Key Takeaway Nurture curiosity and humility. Themes creativity character innocence Mood optimistic thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teaching - parenting - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts artistic integrity humanism Questions to Reflect On - How does childlike wonder influence your work? - Can greatness coexist with humility? A Different Perspective Childlike wonder can be lost with fame. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-great-273805/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Great artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artist/) [Great Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-child-4602539/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Man Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-great/) ## Related quotes > [It shouldn't matter what your sexual orientation is, you just need to be great at what you do. If you're an artist, be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-herndon/it-shouldn-t-matter-what-your-sexual-orientation-is-you-just-need-to/) [Ty Herndon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-herndon/) > [“Not anyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-pinkava-ratatouille/not-anyone-can-become-a-great-artist-but-a-great-artist-can-come-from/) [Jan Pinkava Ratatouille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-pinkava-ratatouille/) > [Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-everyone-can-become-a-great-artist-but-a-great-artist-can-come/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm speaking of the pursuit of excellence in all things. All things! Presence of mind and devotion to craft. A great artist has these.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/i-m-speaking-of-the-pursuit-of-excellence-in-all-things-all-things/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [I am in no sense of the word a great artist, not even a great animator; I have always had men working for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-am-in-no-sense-of-the-word-a-great-artist-not-even-a-great-animator/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [“If one can't be a great artist or a great soldier, the next best thing is to be a great criminal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/if-one-can-t-be-a-great-artist-or-a-great-soldier-the-next-best-thing/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Every genius is a great child; he gazes out at the world as something strange, a spectacle, and therefore with purely objective interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/every-genius-is-a-great-child-he-gazes-out-at-the-world-as-something/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Is there any delight as great as the child's discovering ability?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/is-there-any-delight-as-great-as-the-child-s-discovering-ability/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [The great man is not so great as folks think, and the dull man is not quite so stupid as he seems. The difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-great-man-is-not-so-great-as-folks-think-and-the-dull-man-is-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [“Behind every great man is a great woman' but in front of every great man should be a spectacular woman”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-stern/behind-every-great-man-is-a-great-woman-but-in-front-of-every-great/) [josh stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-stern/) > [In order to become a great man, one must first be a great rascal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/in-order-to-become-a-great-man-one-must-first-be-a-great-rascal/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Behind every great man there's a great woman...behind every great woman there's envy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/behind-every-great-man-there-s-a-great-woman-behind-every-great-woman/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The reason why one man is great and another man is living in mediocrity is simply because one understood the value of time while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-reason-why-one-man-is-great-and-another-man-is-living-in/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Art really does instruct us in how to think, feel, and behave. To be an artist is to have great power. To be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/art-really-does-instruct-us-in-how-to-think-feel-and-behave-to-be-an/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) ## More by Victor Hugo > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“There is still a certain grace in a dead festival. It has been happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-still-a-certain-grace-in-a-dead-festival-it-has-been-happy/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“First I loved women, then animals, and now I love stones. They're just as amusing as women and animals and they're much less trecherous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/first-i-loved-women-then-animals-and-now-i-love-stones-they-re-just/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/have-courage-for-the-great-sorrows-of-life-and-patience-for-the-small/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The peasants of the Asturias believe that in every litter of wolves there is one pup that is killed by the mother for fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-peasants-of-the-asturias-believe-that-in-every-litter-of-wolves/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Great blunders are often made, like large ropes, of a multitude of fibres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/great-blunders-are-often-made-like-large-ropes-of-a-multitude-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“For love is like a tree; it grows of itself; it send its roots deep into our being, and often continues to grow green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/for-love-is-like-a-tree-it-grows-of-itself-it-send-its-roots-deep/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Blacheville smiles with the self-satisfied smugness of a man whose vanity is tickled”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/blacheville-smiles-with-the-self-satisfied-smugness-of-a-man-whose/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Loving in ignorance, she loved with all the more passion. She did not know whether it was good or evil, beneficent or dangerous, necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/loving-in-ignorance-she-loved-with-all-the-more-passion-she-did-not/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/laughter-is-the-sun-that-drives-winter-from-the-human-face/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Our joys have shadows. The perfect smile belongs to God alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/our-joys-have-shadows-the-perfect-smile-belongs-to-god-alone/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When those we love are in question, our prudence invents every sort of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/when-those-we-love-are-in-question-our-prudence-invents-every-sort-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is a fault; so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/love-is-a-fault-so-be-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## 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. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A great artist is a great man in a great child.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Victor Hugo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-great-artist-is-a-great-man-in-a-great-child/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-great-artist-is-a-great-man-in-a-great-child/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/victor-hugo-32_art_a-great-artist-is-a-great-man-in-a-great_635783.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/victor-hugo-32_art_a-great-artist-is-a-great-man-in-a-great_635783.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/victor-hugo-32_art_a-great-artist-is-a-great-man-in-a-great_635783.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A great artist is a great man in a great child.” — Victor Hugo", "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": "Victor Hugo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A great artist is a great...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-great-artist-is-a-great-man-in-a-great-child/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-great-artist-is-a-great-man-in-a-great-child/#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 } } ] } ```