--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We know great art by its effect on us. If…" description: "\"We know great art by its effect on us. If we are prepared to look without preconceptions, without defenses, without haste, then art will change us.\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/wendy-beckett-27829_art_we-know-great-art-by-its-effect-on-us-if_1482391.jpg" --- # We know great art by its effect on us. If we are prepared… ![“We know great art by its effect on us. If we are prepared to look without preconceptions, without defenses, without haste, then art will change us.” quote by Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/wendy-beckett-27829_art_we-know-great-art-by-its-effect-on-us-if_1482391.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/wendy-beckett-27829_art_we-know-great-art-by-its-effect-on-us-if_1482391.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/wendy-beckett-27829_art_we-know-great-art-by-its-effect-on-us-if_1482391.jpg) > “We know great art by its effect on us. If we are prepared to look without preconceptions, without defenses, without haste, then art will change us.” [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) ## 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 reveals its power when we approach it openly, without bias or rush, allowing it to transform us. **In simple terms:** Open, unprejudiced view lets art change us. Key Takeaway Approach art with openness to be transformed. Themes art perception transformation Mood inspirational contemplative Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - museum visits - personal reflection - creative inspiration Key Concepts aesthetic experience mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What preconceptions block your experience of art? - How can you cultivate patience when viewing art? A Different Perspective Rapid consumption can dilute impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Haste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haste/) [Preconceptions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preconceptions/) ## Related quotes > [Wonder at the first sight of works of art may be the effect of ignorance and novelty; but real admiration and permanent delight in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/wonder-at-the-first-sight-of-works-of-art-may-be-the-effect-of/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Art's effect is due to the tension resulting from the clash of the collocation of elements of two (or more) systems of interpretation. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-lotman/art-s-effect-is-due-to-the-tension-resulting-from-the-clash-of-the/) [Yuri Lotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-lotman/) > [“...to the soul, the most minute details and the most ordinary activities, carried out with mindfulness and art, have an effect far beyond their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-moore/to-the-soul-the-most-minute-details-and-the-most-ordinary-activities/) [Thomas Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-moore/) > [Art is not supposed to change the world, to change practical things, but to change perceptions. Art can change the way we see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jr/art-is-not-supposed-to-change-the-world-to-change-practical-things/) JR > [I think movies, I think art, can change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-sciamma/i-think-movies-i-think-art-can-change-the-world/) [Celine Sciamma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-sciamma/) > [There are those who say that poets should use her and his art to change the world. I'd agree with that, but I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/there-are-those-who-say-that-poets-should-use-her-and-his-art-to/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I don’t think that art can change the world. But at least art can help us to unveil life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-lim/i-don-t-think-that-art-can-change-the-world-but-at-least-art-can-help/) [Eugene Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-lim/) > [Art has to change things, and if it was immediately acceptable it would not be doing the job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/art-has-to-change-things-and-if-it-was-immediately-acceptable-it/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [“All this talk about what a marvelous future science'll bring us? Art can change things just as much.' She stubbed out her cigarette. 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Maybe ... we should change the question: Can art change people's lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jr/can-art-change-the-world-maybe-we-should-change-the-question-can-art/) JR > [Poetry can change the world, just like any art can change the world, by changing consciousness. Of course this was the great slogan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/poetry-can-change-the-world-just-like-any-art-can-change-the-world-by/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [Art cannot change the world, but it can contribute to changing the consciousness and drives of the men and women who could change the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/art-cannot-change-the-world-but-it-can-contribute-to-changing-the/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [The basis of art is change in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-basis-of-art-is-change-in-the-universe/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Wendy Beckett > [The experiential test of whether this art is great or good, or minor or abysmal is the effect it has on your own sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/the-experiential-test-of-whether-this-art-is-great-or-good-or-minor/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [There is no life without work, anxieties or tensions. Peace is not found in avoiding these but in understanding them and controlling their force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/there-is-no-life-without-work-anxieties-or-tensions-peace-is-not/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [Looking at art is one way of listening to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/looking-at-art-is-one-way-of-listening-to-god/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [“We were created to be fully human - a lifetime effort - and using our minds intelligently and reverently is essential to full humanhood.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/we-were-created-to-be-fully-human-a-lifetime-effort-and-using-our/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [“Although we cannot command it, we choose joy, making a deliberate commitment to happiness (essentially another word for peace).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/although-we-cannot-command-it-we-choose-joy-making-a-deliberate/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [“God never sends suffering. Never. It is never "God's will" that we should suffer. God would like us not to suffer. But since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/god-never-sends-suffering-never-it-is-never-god-s-will-that-we-should/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [“In grief, part of the pain comes from our feeling that we should not suffer so - that it is fundamentally alien to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/in-grief-part-of-the-pain-comes-from-our-feeling-that-we-should-not/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [“This is the real power of joy, to make us certain that, beneath all grief, the most fundamental of realities is joy itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/this-is-the-real-power-of-joy-to-make-us-certain-that-beneath-all/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [You are not a saint because you keep the rules and are blameless; you are a saint if you live in the real world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/you-are-not-a-saint-because-you-keep-the-rules-and-are-blameless-you/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [All great art is a visual form of prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/all-great-art-is-a-visual-form-of-prayer/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [Great art changes you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/great-art-changes-you/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [The dream world, the true freedom of the imagination, does not open to self-conscious manipulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/the-dream-world-the-true-freedom-of-the-imagination-does-not-open-to/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [If continually people look and look and always come away enriched, then it's a great work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/if-continually-people-look-and-look-and-always-come-away-enriched/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [A work of art is great to the extent that to encounter it is to be changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/a-work-of-art-is-great-to-the-extent-that-to-encounter-it-is-to-be/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [Again and again I've taken quick glances and then for some reason I've got to sit before a picture waiting and it's opened up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/again-and-again-i-ve-taken-quick-glances-and-then-for-some-reason-i/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) [Explore all 20 Wendy Beckett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) ## 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 > [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": "We know great art by its effect on us. 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