---
title: "To Leonardo a landscape, like a human being, was part of a vast machi… — Kenneth Clark Quote #4 | QuotesBy.net"
description: "To Leonardo a landscape, like a human being, was part of a vast machine, to be understood part by part and, if possible, in the whole. Rocks were not… — a quote by Kenneth Clark."
image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png"
---

> # To Leonardo a landscape, like a human being, was part of a vast machine, to be understood part by part and, if possible, in the whole. Rocks were not simply decorative silhouettes. They were part of the earth's bones, with an anatomy of their own, caused by some remote seismic upheaval. Clouds were not random curls of the brush, drawn by some celestial artist, but were the congregation of tiny drops formed from the evaporation of the sea, and soon would pour back their rain into the rivers.

[Kenneth Clark](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark)\#4[WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)](https://wa.me/?text=%E2%80%9CTo%20Leonardo%20a%20landscape%2C%20like%20a%20human%20being%2C%20was%20part%20of%20a%20vast%20machine%2C%20to%20be%20understood%20part%20by%20part%20and%2C%20if%20possible%2C%20in%20the%20whole.%20Rocks%20were%20not%20simply%20decorative%20silhouettes.%20They%20were%20part%20of%20the%20earth%27s%20bones%2C%20with%20an%20anatomy%20of%20their%20own%2C%20caused%20by%20some%20remote%20seismic%20upheaval.%20Clouds%20were%20not%20random%20curls%20of%20the%20brush%2C%20drawn%20by%20some%20celestial%20artist%2C%20but%20were%20the%20congregation%20of%20tiny%20drops%20formed%20from%20the%20evaporation%20of%20the%20sea%2C%20and%20soon%20would%20pour%20back%20their%20rain%20into%20the%20rivers.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Kenneth%20Clark%20https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FKenneth-Clark%2F4%2F)[X (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%E2%80%9CTo%20Leonardo%20a%20landscape%2C%20like%20a%20human%20being%2C%20was%20part%20of%20a%20vast%20machine%2C%20to%20be%20understood%20part%20by%20part%20and%2C%20if%20possible%2C%20in%20the%20whole.%20Rocks%20were%20not%20simply%20decorative%20silhouettes.%20They%20were%20part%20of%20the%20earth%27s%20bones%2C%20with%20an%20anatomy%20of%20their%20own%2C%20caused%20by%20some%20remote%20seismic%20upheaval.%20Clouds%20were%20not%20random%20curls%20of%20the%20brush%2C%20drawn%20by%20some%20celestial%20artist%2C%20but%20were%20the%20congregation%20of%20tiny%20drops%20formed%20from%20the%20evaporation%20of%20the%20sea%2C%20and%20soon%20would%20pour%20back%20their%20rain%20into%20the%20rivers.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Kenneth%20Clark&url=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FKenneth-Clark%2F4%2F)[Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FKenneth-Clark%2F4%2F)

## More from Kenneth Clark

1. > Evidently one cannot look for long at the Last Supper without ceasing to study it as a composition, and beginning to speak of it as a drama. It is the most lit…

[Permalink to quote \#3](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/3/ "Permalink to quote 3")
2. > Leonardo is the Hamlet of art history whom each of us must recreate for himself.

[Permalink to quote \#5](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/5/ "Permalink to quote 5")
3. > Gargoyles were the complement to saints; Leonardo's caricatures were complementary to his untiring search for ideal beauty. And gargoyles were the expression o…

[Permalink to quote \#2](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/2/ "Permalink to quote 2")

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "Quotation",
    "text": "To Leonardo a landscape, like a human being, was part of a vast machine, to be understood part by part and, if possible, in the whole. Rocks were not simply decorative silhouettes. They were part of the earth's bones, with an anatomy of their own, caused by some remote seismic upheaval. Clouds were not random curls of the brush, drawn by some celestial artist, but were the congregation of tiny drops formed from the evaporation of the sea, and soon would pour back their rain into the rivers.",
    "url": "https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/4/",
    "spokenByCharacter": {
        "@type": "Person",
        "name": "Kenneth Clark"
    }
}
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
    "itemListElement": [
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 1,
            "name": "Home",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 2,
            "name": "Authors",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/authors/"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 3,
            "name": "Kenneth Clark",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 4,
            "name": "Quote #4",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/4/"
        }
    ]
}
```