“Art is in itself noble; that is why the artist has no fear of what is common. This, indeed, is already ennobled when he takes it up.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Die Kunst an und für sich selbst ist edel; deßhalb fürchtet sich der Künstler nicht vor dem Gemeinen. Ja indem er es aufnimmt, ist es schon geadelt, und so sehen wir die größten Künstler mit Kühnheit ihr Majestätsrecht ausüben.
Maxim 61, trans. Stopp
Maxims and Reflections (1833)

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Maxims and Reflections (1833)

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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 185

German writer, artist, and politician 1749–1832

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Maxim 191, trans. Stopp
Maxims and Reflections (1833)