Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Art critics in Australia rejected post-impressionism, viewing it as chaotic and unintelligent.
In plain terms
Australian art critics disliked post-impressionism and called it the work of crazy people.
What can you take from it?
Artistic taste varies greatly by region and time.

Where it applies

  • art history classes
  • cultural comparisons
  • museum debates

Putting it to work

  • writing art reviews
  • studying art history
  • curating exhibitions

Questions to consider

  • How do you define great art?
  • Who decides what is vulgar?

Another view

The quote relies on a specific historical period that may not reflect current views.

More from Robert Hughes

  1. If the making of the series had one repeated phrase that still echoes in my head, it was not heard on the soundtrack; the inexorable voice of Lorna Pegram, the…

    Permalink to quote #2
  2. In the real world, mice do exist and they generally go about their business whether we see them or not.

    Permalink to quote #3
  3. With hindsight, one can perhaps see that unachievable projects were the right monuments to an ideal. Because they were not built, they could not be destroyed.

    Permalink to quote #4

Related quotes

  1. Collect all the facts that can be collected about the life of Racine and you will never learn from them the art of his verse. All criticism is dominated by the…

    Paul ValeryPaul Valery quote #2
  2. They shouldn't even be considered. I don't know, man, they got a couple of hit songs, a catchy groove, great beat, I give them a 0.

    Tom ArayaTom Araya quote #2
  3. The poetical fame of Ausonius condemns the taste of his age.

    AusoniusAusonius quote #10