Quote of the Day by Wassily Kandinsky: ‘The artist is not born to a life of pleasure; he has a hard work to perform, and one which often…’

It might be easy to think like an artist, but it's not the same as living a life of it. Wassily Kandinsky reminds us that art is not born from comfort or ease but from commitment and inner conflict. In Concerning the Spiritual in Art, he frames the artist not as a seeker of pleasure but as a worker burdened with responsibility, driven to create even when the process is demanding, painful, and deeply personal.

Today’s quote is by Russian-born painter Wassily Kandinsky: ‘The artist is not born to a life of pleasure. He must not live idle; he has a hard work to perform, and one which often proves a cross to be borne.’

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Meaning of the quote

The quote reflects Wassily Kandinsky’s belief that true art is not about comfort, fame, or pleasure, but about responsibility and inner struggle. When Kandinsky writes this in Concerning the Spiritual in Art, he means that an artist’s role is almost moral and spiritual in nature. An artist must work deeply and sincerely to express inner truths, even when that process is difficult, isolating, or painful. Creation, in his view, demands discipline, sacrifice, and perseverance, not idleness or indulgence.


The phrase “a cross to be borne” suggests that artistic work can feel like a burden: the artist is compelled to create, to question, and to push boundaries, often without immediate reward or understanding from society. Yet this hardship is essential, because art, for Kandinsky, exists to elevate human consciousness, not to entertain passively.

In short, the quote says: real art is hard work, and the artist must accept struggle as part of their calling.

About Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian artist and influential art theorist best known for pioneering abstract art in Europe. He believed art was a spiritual force, viewing the artist as a kind of prophet whose work could elevate human consciousness. Kandinsky is widely regarded as the first European artist to create fully abstract paintings, an innovation that reshaped modern art and expanded what art could represent.

Born in 1866 in Moscow, Kandinsky came from an ethnically diverse background: his mother was Russian, his grandmother a Mongolian princess, and his father of Serbian origin. Raised in a well-to-do family, he traveled widely across Europe in his youth, particularly to Venice, Rome, and Florence, where his fascination with color and emotional expression began to take shape.

He completed his schooling in Odessa and was also musically trained, performing as an amateur pianist and cellist, a background that later influenced the rhythm and harmony of his visual art.