Daily Art Quote #13 (by Ralph Waldo Emerson)

pyrowngs (63)in #dailyartquote • 7 years ago (edited)

Daily Art Quote:

"Painting seems to be to the eye what dancing is to the limbs."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (from his Essays: First Series, "Art" (1841))

(Photo of Ralph Waldo Emerson from this website)

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a great writer, poet & lecturer, who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-nineteenth century (according to wikipedia). His very observant quote above is quite true, in my opinion. Similarly, I often use the term "eye candy" when referring to paintings or photographs, (or even natural scenes in-person), when the colors are so vivid or the image is so beautiful, it almost moves you to tears. Beauty, eye candy, luscious colors, smooth blending and layering, vibrancy - things that are pleasing to look at or interesting to study - feeling and experiencing things visually. These are gifts that should not be taken for granted.

You can read about Ralph Waldo Emerson's life at this website, and you can read his entire "Art" essay here.

Since he was a writer, and not an artist, I will pair some art to go along with his quote. Since the quote mentions dancing, I have chosen an artist from the UK who is great at capturing dancers. The following paintings are by the artist Sera Knight. Please visit her website to see her entire online gallery and to purchase her prints or greeting cards.

Not only are these paintings OF dancers ~ the colors & paint seem to be dancing on the canvas!