Great Ideas of Man

"Nothing else in the world … not all the armies … is so powerful as an idea whose time has come."
—Victor Hugo, The Future of Man

In this enigmatic painting, artist Robert Vickrey wrestles with this quotation of Victor Hugo, the French author born on this date in 1802.

This artwork is part of the series "Great Ideas," the theme for an advertising campaign started by the Container Corporation of America in 1950.

The idea for the campaign was adapted from the principles of the University of Chicago humanities curriculum, a course of general education based on the study of classic works of philosophy and literature. Artists were commissioned to create artworks based on quotations from classic texts.

Pictured: Robert Vickrey, born 1926, "Nothing else in the world...not all the armies...is so powerful as an idea whose time has come." Victor Hugo, The Future of Man. From the series "Great Ideas of Western Man", 1964, tempera on fiberboard, 21 1/8 x 18 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America.