"The sublime in Painting, as in Poetry, so overpowers, and takes such a possession of the whole mind, that no room is left for attention to minute criticism."
— Reynolds, Joshua (1723-1792)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by Thomas Cadell
Date
December 10, 1790; 1791
Metaphor
"The sublime in Painting, as in Poetry, so overpowers, and takes such a possession of the whole mind, that no room is left for attention to minute criticism."
Metaphor in Context
The sublime in Painting, as in Poetry, so overpowers, and takes such a possession of the whole mind, that no room is left for attention to minute criticism. The little elegancies of art in the presence of these great ideas thus greatly expressed, lose all their value, and are, for the instant at least, felt to be unworthy of our notice. The correct judgment, the purity of taste, which characterise Raphael; the exquisite grace of Corregio and Parmegiano, all disappear before them.
(pp. 20-1)
(pp. 20-1)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
From 1769 to 1772 Reynolds' lectures were delivered annually, with each discourse published shortly after its delivery. After 1772, the lectures were delivered biennially. The first seven discourses were collected and published together in 1778. In 1797, the first collected edition of all fifteen appeared, with a second edition issued in 1798. See the ODNB.
Text from A Discourse, Delivered to the Students of the Royal Academy, on the Distribution of the Prizes, Dec. 10, 1790. By the President. (London: Printed by Thomas Cadell, 1791). <Link to ECCO>
Text from A Discourse, Delivered to the Students of the Royal Academy, on the Distribution of the Prizes, Dec. 10, 1790. By the President. (London: Printed by Thomas Cadell, 1791). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
07/25/2013
