If I were the government I would have a special brigade of gendarmes to keep an eye on artists who paint landscapes from nature. Oh, I don't mean to kill anyone; just a little dose of bird-shot now and then as a warning.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Artists who paint directly from nature need strict monitoring or punishment.
- In plain terms
- Painters who copy nature should be threatened with bird-shot.
- What can you take from it?
- Direct observation of nature needs regulation.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How much control should art have?
- Is nature too easy to copy?
Another view
The suggestion is hyperbolic and impractical for real policy.
More from Edgar Degas
The air you breathe in a picture is not necessarily the same as the air out of doors.
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Permalink to quote #23 Visitor: Monsieur Degas, were there any of Monet's pictures at the Durand-Ruel exhibition? Degas: Why, I met Monet himself there, and I said to him, 'Let me ge…
Permalink to quote #20
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