By art alone we are able to get outside ourselves, to know what another sees of this universe which for him is not ours, the landscapes of which woul… - Marcel Proust
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By art alone we are able to get outside ourselves, to know what another sees of this universe which for him is not ours, the landscapes of which would remain as unknown to us as those of the moon. Thanks to art, instead of seeing one world, our own, we see it multiplied and as many original artists as there are, so many worlds are at our disposal, differing more widely from each other than those which roll round the infinite and which, whether their name be Rembrandt or Vermeer, send us their unique rays many centuries after the hearth from which they emanate is extinguished.<p>This labour of the artist to discover a means of apprehending beneath matter and experience, beneath words, something different from their appearance, is of an exactly contrary nature to the operation in which pride, passion, intelligence and habit are constantly engaged within us when we spend our lives without self-communion, accumulating as though to hide our true impressions, the terminology for practical ends which we falsely call life.
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, essayist and critic.
Biography information from
Wikiquote·
Portrait adapted from
Wikimedia Commons, Otto Wegener (Public domain / CC0)
Also Known As
Alternative Names:
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust
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Proust
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Valentin Louis Georges Eugéne Marcel Proust
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Valentin-Louis-Georges-Eugéne-Marcel Proust
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Valentin Louis Georges Eugene Marcel Proust
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Valentin-Louis-Georges-Eugene-Marcel Proust
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Bernard d'Algouvres
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Valentin-Louis-Georges-Eugène-Marcel Proust
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Shorter versions of this quote
Thanks to art, instead of seeing one world only, our own, we see that world multiply itself and we have at our disposal as many worlds as there are original artists, worlds more different one from the other than those which revolve in infinite space, worlds which, centuries after the extinction of the fire from which their light first emanated, whether it is called Rembrandt or Vermeer, send us still each one its special radiance.
Only through art can we emerge from ourselves and know what another person sees.
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Through art alone are we able to emerge from ourselves, to know what another person sees of a universe which is not the same as our own and of which, without art, the landscapes would remain as unknown to us as those that may exist on the moon. Thanks to art, instead of seeing one world only, our own, we see that world multiply itself and we have at our disposal as many worlds as there are original artists, worlds more different one from the other than those which revolve in infinite space, worlds which, centuries after the extinction of the fire from which their light first emanated, whether it is called Rembrandt or Vermeer, send us still each one its special radiance.
By art alone we can get out of ourselves, find out what another person sees of this universe which is not the same as ours... Thanks to art, instead of seeing only one world, we see it multiplied, and we have as many different worlds at our disposition as there are original artists.
