Quotation
Quote by James McNeill Whistler
As music is the poetry of sound, so is painting the poetry of sight.
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Understanding this quote
The quote compares music and painting to poetry in different senses. Music gives shape and feeling to sound, while painting gives shape and feeling to what we see. Like poetry, both arts turn ordinary sensory experience into something arranged, expressive, and open to interpretation.
Source & trust
About this quotation
- Source
- The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler, University of Glasgow
- Format
- Official Statement
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Topics

Jun Keeps the Rain
Jun wanted applause for the sounds he had gathered. Instead, a missing recording teaches him how to make room for everyone else’s rhythm.
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