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Full Idea
How vain painting is, exciting admiration by its resemblance to things of which we do not admire the originals.
Gist of Idea
Painting makes us admire things of which we do not admire the originals
Source
Blaise Pascal (Pensées [1662], 40 (134))
Book Ref
Pascal,Blaise: 'Pensées', ed/tr. Krailsheimer,A.J. [Penguin 1966], p.38
A Reaction
A lesser sort of painting simply depicts things we admire, such as a nice stretch of landscape. For Pascal it is vanity, but it could be defended as the highest achievement of art, if the purpose of artists is to make us see beauty where we had missed it.
| 2160 | Representation is two steps removed from the truth [Plato] |
| 6676 | Painting makes us admire things of which we do not admire the originals [Pascal] |
| 20332 | A drawing only represents Napoleon if the artist intended it to [Wollheim] |
| 12160 | In aesthetic interest, even what is true is treated as though it were not [Scruton] |