"The work of art, just like any fragment of human life considered in its deepest meaning, seems to me devoid of value if it does not offer the hardness, the rigidity, the regularity, the luster on every interior and exterior facet, of the crystal"
About this Quote
The intent is partly defensive. Paul VI led the Church through Vatican II’s turbulence, when liturgy, architecture, and aesthetics were being argued over in real time. “Crystal” becomes a quiet rebuke to the cult of spontaneity: feeling is not enough; expression must be shaped until it can bear scrutiny from every angle. The phrase “every interior and exterior facet” matters. He’s insisting that integrity is visible. If the inside is sloppy, the surface will eventually betray it.
The subtext is also moral. Hardness signals ascetic labor: the artist’s refusal of easy effects, the believer’s refusal of vague sentiment. “Regularity” and “luster” point to a paradox central to Catholic culture at its best: constraint doesn’t kill radiance, it produces it. A crystal looks miraculous precisely because it is lawful.
It’s not a call for coldness so much as a demand for coherence: art that can stand like doctrine stands, not by bullying doubt, but by being impossible to dismiss as mere mood.
Quote Details
| Topic | Art |
|---|---|
| Source | Address to Artists (Message to Artists), Pope Paul VI, 7 July 1964 — official papal message that includes the comparison of a work of art to the hardness, rigidity, regularity and luster of a crystal. |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
VI, Pope Paul. (2026, January 16). The work of art, just like any fragment of human life considered in its deepest meaning, seems to me devoid of value if it does not offer the hardness, the rigidity, the regularity, the luster on every interior and exterior facet, of the crystal. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-work-of-art-just-like-any-fragment-of-human-109446/
Chicago Style
VI, Pope Paul. "The work of art, just like any fragment of human life considered in its deepest meaning, seems to me devoid of value if it does not offer the hardness, the rigidity, the regularity, the luster on every interior and exterior facet, of the crystal." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-work-of-art-just-like-any-fragment-of-human-109446/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The work of art, just like any fragment of human life considered in its deepest meaning, seems to me devoid of value if it does not offer the hardness, the rigidity, the regularity, the luster on every interior and exterior facet, of the crystal." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-work-of-art-just-like-any-fragment-of-human-109446/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
