--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That, he thought, was the essential…" description: "\"“That, he thought, was the essential purpose of art—to capture the universal in the everyday, which was particular to their here and now: the present.”..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/will-gompertz-31976_art_that-he-thought-was-the-essential-purpos_789766.jpg" --- # That, he thought, was the essential purpose of art—to… ![“That, he thought, was the essential purpose of art—to capture the universal in the everyday, which was particular to their here and now: the present.” quote by Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/will-gompertz-31976_art_that-he-thought-was-the-essential-purpos_789766.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/will-gompertz-31976_art_that-he-thought-was-the-essential-purpos_789766.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/will-gompertz-31976_art_that-he-thought-was-the-essential-purpos_789766.jpg) > ““That, he thought, was the essential purpose of art—to capture the universal in the everyday, which was particular to their here and now: the present.”” [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art seeks to reveal universal truths through ordinary moments, grounding them in the specific present. **In simple terms:** Art shows the universal in everyday life. Key Takeaway Observe and depict daily moments to reveal deeper meaning. Themes art universality present observation Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - gallery c - social media posts - personal journals Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy phenomenology Questions to Reflect On - How can you capture the universal in your daily routine? - What everyday detail reveals a larger truth? A Different Perspective Art may overlook systemic issues by focusing only on individual moments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Essential Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essential-purpose-601029/) [Everyday Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday-particular-6068065/) [Particular Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular-present-6068066/) [Purpose Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-art/) [Universal Everyday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal-everyday-5899642/) ## Related quotes > [When something is universal enough in our everyday lives, we take it for granted to the point of forgetting it exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/when-something-is-universal-enough-in-our-everyday-lives-we-take-it/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [Why, we have invented the whole machinery of the supernatural, with its unseen spirits and powers, good and bad, to account for things, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/why-we-have-invented-the-whole-machinery-of-the-supernatural-with-its/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [There is no reason to believe ... that the "essential purpose" of language is "communication". ... Language can be used to transmit information, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-is-no-reason-to-believe-that-the-essential-purpose-of-language/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Whether our egos acknowledge it or not, our souls know that an essential purpose of life is to identify and manifest the unique spark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-rahman/whether-our-egos-acknowledge-it-or-not-our-souls-know-that-an/) [Jamal Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-rahman/) > [The primary, the fundamental, the essential purpose of the United Nations is to keep peace. Everything it does which helps prevent World War III…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge-jr/the-primary-the-fundamental-the-essential-purpose-of-the-united/) [Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge-jr/) > [All the concepts about stepping out of your comfort zone mean nothing until you decide that your essential purpose, vision and goals are more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-the-concepts-about-stepping-out-of-your-comfort-zone-mean-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our essential purpose is to become the best version of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/our-essential-purpose-is-to-become-the-best-version-of-ourselves/) [Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/) > [“Living holy lives is the goal of the Christian life and our essential purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/living-holy-lives-is-the-goal-of-the-christian-life-and-our-essential/) [Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/) > [Your purpose is about discovering and nurturing who you truly are, to know and love yourself at the deepest level and to guide yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-carr/your-purpose-is-about-discovering-and-nurturing-who-you-truly-are-to/) [Kris Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-carr/) > [The essential purpose of astrology is not so much to tell us what we will meet on our road, as it is to suggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-rudhyar/the-essential-purpose-of-astrology-is-not-so-much-to-tell-us-what-we/) [Dane Rudhyar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-rudhyar/) > [Your inner purpose is an essential part of the purpose of the whole, the universe and its emerging intelligence. Your outer purpose can change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/your-inner-purpose-is-an-essential-part-of-the-purpose-of-the-whole/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The purpose of art actually is, in many cases, to make you feel quite uncomfortable. Or at least to go to that place that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/the-purpose-of-art-actually-is-in-many-cases-to-make-you-feel-quite/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [The purpose of art is to re-present nature, not represent it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/the-purpose-of-art-is-to-re-present-nature-not-represent-it/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [I don't really believe in political art. I feel in my heart the purpose of art transcends cultural and class and politics. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-lennon/i-don-t-really-believe-in-political-art-i-feel-in-my-heart-the/) [Sean Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-lennon/) > [To me the purpose of art is to produce something alive...but with a separate, and of course one hopes, with an everlasting life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-green/to-me-the-purpose-of-art-is-to-produce-something-alive-but-with-a/) [Henry Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-green/) ## More by Will Gompertz > [“It’s a urinal! It’s not even the original. The art is in the idea, not the object.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/it-s-a-urinal-it-s-not-even-the-original-the-art-is-in-the-idea-not/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [I think art world will have consolidated, I think it will slow down a little bit. I think it will be less white and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/i-think-art-world-will-have-consolidated-i-think-it-will-slow-down-a/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [I don't think ever before in the whole of human history has so much art been made, bought, and sold. It's a massive international…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/i-don-t-think-ever-before-in-the-whole-of-human-history-has-so-much/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [“Paint, for the Impressionists, became a medium whose material properties were being celebrated as opposed to being disguised behind the artifice of a pictorial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/paint-for-the-impressionists-became-a-medium-whose-material/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [Be an artist. Don't say it, do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/be-an-artist-don-t-say-it-do-it/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [I often look for beauty in form and structure, and for ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/i-often-look-for-beauty-in-form-and-structure-and-for-ideas/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [“Duchamp thought it was for artists to decide what was and what was not a work of art. His position was that if an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/duchamp-thought-it-was-for-artists-to-decide-what-was-and-what-was/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [“He considered the medium to be secondary: first and foremost was the idea. Only after an artist had settled on and developed a concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/he-considered-the-medium-to-be-secondary-first-and-foremost-was-the/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [Group shows are always much harder to present to the public because there's a theme to the show. They always do less well because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/group-shows-are-always-much-harder-to-present-to-the-public-because/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [We're moving from a generation who gave little thought as to the built environment and accepted housing that was neither pleasant to look at,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/we-re-moving-from-a-generation-who-gave-little-thought-as-to-the/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [“An artist’s job was not to give aesthetic pleasure—designers could do that; it was to step back from the world and attempt to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/an-artist-s-job-was-not-to-give-aesthetic-pleasure-designers-could-do/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [“ambitious provincial towns and tourist-oriented countries wanting to “do a Bilbao”—that is, to transform their reputations and raise their profile by commissioning an eye-catching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/ambitious-provincial-towns-and-tourist-oriented-countries-wanting-to/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [“Art is always to an extent about trying to create order out of chaos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/art-is-always-to-an-extent-about-trying-to-create-order-out-of-chaos/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [“Henri Rousseau was a simple, poorly educated man with an air of innocent naïveté. The Montmartre crowd gave him the nickname “Le Douanier,” meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/henri-rousseau-was-a-simple-poorly-educated-man-with-an-air-of/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) > [“Modernism’s constant quest to find a single, all-encompassing solution to humanity’s problems was considered to be silly, naive and delusional by the Postmodernists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/modernism-s-constant-quest-to-find-a-single-all-encompassing-solution/) [Will Gompertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) [Explore all 16 Will Gompertz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/) ## 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": "“That, he thought, was the essential purpose of art—to capture the universal in the everyday, which was particular to their here and now: the present.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Will Gompertz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/that-he-thought-was-the-essential-purpose-of-art-to-capture-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/that-he-thought-was-the-essential-purpose-of-art-to-capture-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/will-gompertz-31976_art_that-he-thought-was-the-essential-purpos_789766.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/will-gompertz-31976_art_that-he-thought-was-the-essential-purpos_789766.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/will-gompertz-31976_art_that-he-thought-was-the-essential-purpos_789766.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That, he thought, was the essential purpose of art—to capture the universal in the everyday, which was…” — Will Gompertz", "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": "Will Gompertz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-gompertz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“That, he thought, was the essential...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/that-he-thought-was-the-essential-purpose-of-art-to-capture-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-gompertz/that-he-thought-was-the-essential-purpose-of-art-to-capture-the/#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 } } ] } ```