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About this quote

What does it mean?
Painting must convey meaning instantly since it lacks the time to unfold like poetry.
In plain terms
A painter has only one moment to communicate, so it must be powerful.
What can you take from it?
Make every visual element count because you have one shot.

Where it applies

  • presenting a slide
  • taking a photo
  • designing a poster

Putting it to work

  • focus on key details
  • remove clutter
  • test clarity

Questions to consider

  • What is your single message?
  • How do you capture attention quickly?

Another view

Some art invites prolonged viewing and slow understanding.

More from Joshua Reynolds

  1. If deceiving the eye were the only business of the art, there is no doubt, indeed, but the minute painter would be more apt to succeed; but it is not the eye, …

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  2. Words should be employed as the means, not as the end: language is the instrument, conviction is the work.

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  3. Could we teach taste or genius by rules, they would be no longer taste and genius.

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