"At the beginning of the 20th century, the ambition of the great painters was to make paintings that were like music, which was then considered as the noblest art"
About this Quote
Eno’s intent isn’t to dunk on painting; it’s to spotlight a historical moment when artists chased a model of experience rather than a model of objects. Think of Kandinsky’s spiritual abstraction, Whistler’s “Nocturnes,” later the synesthetic dreams of Scriabin and the whole Bauhaus-era urge to unify the senses. Music is framed as “noblest” because it’s harder to pin down and therefore easier to mythologize - a prestige rooted in ambiguity.
The subtext is also very Eno: a defense of art that behaves like an environment. His own work treats music less as narrative and more as atmosphere, texture, and system. By pointing out that painters coveted music’s status, he’s hinting that the real modern ambition was to make art you inhabit, not art that merely illustrates.
Quote Details
| Topic | Art |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Eno, Brian. (2026, January 17). At the beginning of the 20th century, the ambition of the great painters was to make paintings that were like music, which was then considered as the noblest art. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/at-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the-ambition-48201/
Chicago Style
Eno, Brian. "At the beginning of the 20th century, the ambition of the great painters was to make paintings that were like music, which was then considered as the noblest art." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/at-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the-ambition-48201/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"At the beginning of the 20th century, the ambition of the great painters was to make paintings that were like music, which was then considered as the noblest art." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/at-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the-ambition-48201/. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
