---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thinker requires exactly the same…"
description: "\"The thinker requires exactly the same light as the painter, clear, without direct sunshine, or blinding reflection, and, where possible, from above.\" —..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel-41_artist_the-thinker-requires-exactly-the-same-li_65881.jpg"
---

#  The thinker requires exactly the same light as the…

![“The thinker requires exactly the same light as the painter, clear, without direct sunshine, or blinding reflection, and, where possible, from above.” quote by August Wilhelm von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel-41_artist_the-thinker-requires-exactly-the-same-li_65881.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel-41_artist_the-thinker-requires-exactly-the-same-li_65881.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel-41_artist_the-thinker-requires-exactly-the-same-li_65881.jpg)

> “The thinker requires exactly the same light as the painter, clear, without direct sunshine, or blinding reflection, and, where possible, from above.”

[August Wilhelm von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Intellectual work needs indirect, diffused illumination—soft, even light that avoids harsh glare—similar to the conditions a painter seeks for accurate perception.

**In simple terms:** Gentle, indirect light aids clear thinking.

Key Takeaway

Clarity comes from soft, balanced illumination.

Themes

perception creativity environment focus clarity

Mood

contemplative inspired thoughtful

Type

aphor observation philosophical

When to use this quote

- studio lighting design
- library ambiance
- office lighting
- creative brainstorming spaces

Key Concepts

light metaphor artistic analogy cognitive conditions

Practical Applications

- designing workspaces
- optimizing visual environments

Questions to Reflect On

- How does lighting affect your mental focus?
- What environments help you think most clearly?

A Different Perspective

Some argue bright, direct light can stimulate alertness and energy, contrary to the claim that only soft light benefits cognition.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) [Sunshine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunshine/) [Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker/)

## Related quotes

> [Death is pitch-dark, but colors are light. To be a painter, one must work with rays of light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/death-is-pitch-dark-but-colors-are-light-to-be-a-painter-one-must/)

[Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/)

> [You can think negatively or positively. If you are a positive thinker, you will base your decisions on faith rather than fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-schuller/you-can-think-negatively-or-positively-if-you-are-a-positive-thinker/)

[Robert H. Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-schuller/)

> [“I am not an individual – I am an idea – an idea of unity – an idea of harmony – an idea of humanhood above everything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-am-not-an-individual-i-am-an-idea-an-idea-of-unity-an-idea-of/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [Some writers are writing one great, big book and just taking all these different avenues towards it. They might seem on the outside to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/some-writers-are-writing-one-great-big-book-and-just-taking-all-these/)

[Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/)

> [Science will always raise philosophical questions like, is any scientific theory or model correct? How do we know? Are unobserved things real? etc. and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-crane/science-will-always-raise-philosophical-questions-like-is-any/)

[Tim Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-crane/)

> [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet. Then all things are at risk. It is as when a conflagration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/beware-when-the-great-god-lets-loose-a-thinker-on-this-planet-then/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [The herd instinct among forecasters makes sheep look like independent thinkers..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-fiedler/the-herd-instinct-among-forecasters-makes-sheep-look-like-independent/)

[Edgar Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-fiedler/)

> [The benevolence of wrapping the partridge in a vine leaf brings out its quality, just as the barrel of Diogenes brought forth the qualities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-des-essarts/the-benevolence-of-wrapping-the-partridge-in-a-vine-leaf-brings-out/)

Emmanuel des Essarts

> [“The same Sermon on the Mount that influenced Tolstoy to write “The Kingdom of God is Within You”, inspired me to a great extent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-same-sermon-on-the-mount-that-influenced-tolstoy-to-write-the/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [Autism is a big continuum, going from someone who remains nonverbal, all the way up to geniuses on Silicon Valley. And some kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/autism-is-a-big-continuum-going-from-someone-who-remains-nonverbal/)

[Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/)

> [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“I am neither a philosopher nor a thinker, but simply follower of my own thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/i-am-neither-a-philosopher-nor-a-thinker-but-simply-follower-of-my/)

[M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/)

> [The thinker is going to find a way to put clothes on his back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-cortez-stanfield/the-thinker-is-going-to-find-a-way-to-put-clothes-on-his-back/)

[Marlon Cortez Stanfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-cortez-stanfield/)

> [No accurate thinker will judge another person by that which the other person's enemies say about him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/no-accurate-thinker-will-judge-another-person-by-that-which-the-other/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

## More by August Wilhelm von Schlegel

> [Authorship, according to the spirit in which it is pursued, is an infancy, a pastime, a labor, a handicraft, an art, a science, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/authorship-according-to-the-spirit-in-which-it-is-pursued-is-an/)

[August Wilhelm Von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/)

> [Egotism erects its center in itself; love places it out of itself in the axis of the universal whole. Love aims at unity, egotismat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/egotism-erects-its-center-in-itself-love-places-it-out-of-itself-in/)

[August Wilhelm von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/)

> [Literature is the immortality of speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/literature-is-the-immortality-of-speech/)

[August Wilhelm von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/)

> [Formerly it was the fashion to preach the natural; now it is the ideal. People too often forget that these things are profoundly compatible;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/formerly-it-was-the-fashion-to-preach-the-natural-now-it-is-the-ideal/)

[August Wilhelm von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/)

> [What a conception of art must those theorists have who exclude portraits from the proper province of the fine arts! It is exactly as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/what-a-conception-of-art-must-those-theorists-have-who-exclude/)

[August Wilhelm von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/)

> [“ In actual life, every great enterprise begins with and takes its first step forward in faith. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/in-actual-life-every-great-enterprise-begins-with-and-takes-its-first/)

[August Wilhelm von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/)

> [That which exists in nature is a something purely individual and particular. Art, on the contrary, is essentially destined to manifest the general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/that-which-exists-in-nature-is-a-something-purely-individual-and/)

[August Wilhelm von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/)

> [Authorship is, according to the spirit in which it is pursued, an infamy, a pastime, a day-labor, a handicraft, an art, a science, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/authorship-is-according-to-the-spirit-in-which-it-is-pursued-an/)

[August Wilhelm von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/)

> [In actual life, every great enterprise begins with and takes its first forward step in faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/in-actual-life-every-great-enterprise-begins-with-and-takes-its-first-2/)

[August Wilhelm von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/)

[Explore all 10 August Wilhelm von Schlegel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/)

## More Artist quotes

> [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/)

[Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/)

> [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/)

[Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/)

> [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/)

[Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/)

> [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/)

Taf Teh

> [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/)

[St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/)

[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/)

[Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/)

> [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/)

[Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/)

> [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/)

[Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/)

[Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The thinker requires exactly the same light as the painter, clear, without direct sunshine, or blinding reflection, and, where possible, from above.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "August Wilhelm von Schlegel"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/the-thinker-requires-exactly-the-same-light-as-the-painter-clear/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Artist"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/the-thinker-requires-exactly-the-same-light-as-the-painter-clear/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel-41_artist_the-thinker-requires-exactly-the-same-li_65881.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel-41_artist_the-thinker-requires-exactly-the-same-li_65881.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel-41_artist_the-thinker-requires-exactly-the-same-li_65881.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The thinker requires exactly the same light as the painter, clear, without direct sunshine, or blinding…” — August Wilhelm von Schlegel",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "August Wilhelm von Schlegel",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The thinker requires exactly the same...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/the-thinker-requires-exactly-the-same-light-as-the-painter-clear/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/the-thinker-requires-exactly-the-same-light-as-the-painter-clear/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
