Joshua Reynolds Quotes

A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts.
Joshua Reynolds

Thoughts, Pictures, Room

The real character of a man is found out by his amusements.
Joshua Reynolds

Character, Real, Found

All the gestures of children are graceful; the reign of distortion and unnatural attitudes commences with the introduction of the dancing master.
Joshua Reynolds

Children, Dancing, Master

A mere copier of nature can never produce anything great.
Joshua Reynolds

Nature, Great, Mere

Could we teach taste or genius by rules, they would be no longer taste and genius.
Joshua Reynolds

Genius, Rules, Longer

Few have been taught to any purpose who have not been their own teachers.
Joshua Reynolds

Purpose, Few, Taught

If you have great talents, industry will improve them: if you have but moderate abilities, industry will supply their deficiency.
Joshua Reynolds

Great, Industry, Improve

Invention, strictly speaking, is little more than a new combination of those images which have been previously gathered and deposited in the memory; nothing can come of nothing.
Joshua Reynolds

Nothing, Memory, Speaking

It is but a poor eloquence which only shows that the orator can talk.
Joshua Reynolds

Poor, Talk, Shows

The greatest man is he who forms the taste of a nation; the next greatest is he who corrupts it.
Joshua Reynolds

Greatest, Nation, Next

The value and rank of every art is in proportion to the mental labor employed in it, or the mental pleasure in producing it.
Joshua Reynolds

Art, Value, Labor

Words should be employed as the means, not the end; language is the instrument, conviction is the work.
Joshua Reynolds

Work, End, Words

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Biography

Nationality: English

Type: Artist

Born: July 16, 1723

Died: February 23, 1792

Links

Find on Amazon: Joshua Reynolds

Cite this Page: Citation

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