“It would be unfair to say that I prefer the back of a book to its contents, but it is true that the sight of a lot of books gives me the hope that I may some day read them, which sometimes develops into the belief that I have read them.” GivingMayBookSometimesWould BeBeliefSightGive MeUnfair Author:Kenneth Clark
“Art...must do something more than give pleasure: it should relate to our own life so as to increase our energy of spirit.” GivingShouldArtSpiritEnergyPleasureIncreaseRelate Author:Kenneth Clark
“Devotion to the facts will always give the pleasures of recognition; adherence to the rules of design, the pleasures of order and certainty.” GivingFactsOrderPleasureDesignDevotionCertaintyRecognitionAdherence Book:Landscape Painting Source: Landscape Painting
“The nude gains its enduring value from the fact that it reconciles several contrary states. It takes the most sensual and immediately interesting object, the human body, and puts it out of reach of time and desire; it takes the most purely rational concept of which mankind is capable, mathematical order, and makes it a delight to the senses; and it takes the vague fears of the unknown and sweetens them by showing that the gods are like men and may be worshiped for their life-giving beauty rather than their death-dealing powers.” MenGivingHumansMayStatesFactsBodyDesireValuesOrderInterestingMankindObjectsCapableConceptsGainsEndureDelightContrarySensesRationalSensualMathematicalVagueHuman BodyReconcileFear Of The Unknown Author:Kenneth Clark
“Great works of art can be produced in barbarous societies - in fact the very narrowness of primitive society gives their ornamental art a peculiar concentration and vitality. At some time in the ninth century one could have looked down the Seine and seen the prow of a Viking ship coming up the river. Looked at today in the British Museum, it is a powerful work of art; but to the mother of a family trying to settle down in her little hut, it would have seemed less agreeable - as menacing to her civilisation as the periscope of a nuclear submarine.” GivingTryingLittlesArtFactsTodayMotherPowerfulCenturyRiversBritishNuclearShipsSettlingConcentrationWorks Of ArtMuseumsPeculiarPrimitiveVitalityGreat WorkCivilisationSettling DownVikingsHutsSubmarinesBritish Museum Author:Kenneth Clark
