--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only kind of sublimity which a…" description: "\"The only kind of sublimity which a painter or sculptor should aim at is to express by certain proportions and positions of limbs and features that stre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/edmund-burke-400_action_the-only-kind-of-sublimity-which-a-paint_1804407.jpg" --- # The only kind of sublimity which a painter or sculptor… ![“The only kind of sublimity which a painter or sculptor should aim at is to express by certain proportions and positions of limbs and features that strength and dignity of mind, and vigor and activity of body, which enables men to conceive and execute great actions.” quote by Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/edmund-burke-400_action_the-only-kind-of-sublimity-which-a-paint_1804407.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/edmund-burke-400_action_the-only-kind-of-sublimity-which-a-paint_1804407.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/edmund-burke-400_action_the-only-kind-of-sublimity-which-a-paint_1804407.jpg) > “The only kind of sublimity which a painter or sculptor should aim at is to express by certain proportions and positions of limbs and features that strength and dignity of mind, and vigor and activity of body, which enables men to conceive and execute great actions.” [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should depict proportioned human forms that embody mental strength and physical vigor, inspiring great deeds. **In simple terms:** Art shows balanced bodies, strong minds. Key Takeaway Create art that inspires action. Themes art humanism strength Mood reflective inspiring Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - public monuments - educational murals - cinematic character design Key Concepts aesthetics proportion heroism Questions to Reflect On - How does proportion affect viewer inspiration? - Can art motivate societal change? A Different Perspective Risk of idealizing unrealistic bodies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Sculptors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculptors/) [Sublimity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sublimity/) [Vigor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vigor/) ## Related quotes > [To become a painter or a sculptor or a graphic designer is quite an isolated way to spend your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/to-become-a-painter-or-a-sculptor-or-a-graphic-designer-is-quite-an/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [An actor should take lessons from a painter and a sculptor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/an-actor-should-take-lessons-from-a-painter-and-a-sculptor/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Every man is the painter and the sculptor of his own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/every-man-is-the-painter-and-the-sculptor-of-his-own-life/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [I would have loved to have been a painter or a sculptor. I'm still fascinated by those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-would-have-loved-to-have-been-a-painter-or-a-sculptor-i-m-still/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain and danger, that is to say, whatever is in any sort terrible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/whatever-is-fitted-in-any-sort-to-excite-the-ideas-of-pain-and-danger/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I want to direct films, because I am a painter and a sculptor and I've done a lot of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xander-berkeley/i-want-to-direct-films-because-i-am-a-painter-and-a-sculptor-and-i-ve/) [Xander Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xander-berkeley/) > [I was never the kind of painter or sculptor who kept a shop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/i-was-never-the-kind-of-painter-or-sculptor-who-kept-a-shop/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [Every man is a painter and the sculptor of his own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/every-man-is-a-painter-and-the-sculptor-of-his-own-life/) Pacifiersucker > [With a painter or a sculptor, one cannot begin to alter his works, but an architect has to put up with anything, because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-jacobsen/with-a-painter-or-a-sculptor-one-cannot-begin-to-alter-his-works-but/) [Arne Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-jacobsen/) > [“The rain always reminds me of your sublimity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/the-rain-always-reminds-me-of-your-sublimity/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [The dogma of the mystic offices of Christ being dropped, and he standing on his genius as a moral teacher, 'tis impossible to maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-dogma-of-the-mystic-offices-of-christ-being-dropped-and-he/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“He knew what retributions your devils are liable to bring for the way you treat your wife and women or behave while your father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/he-knew-what-retributions-your-devils-are-liable-to-bring-for-the-way/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The silliness-much of which is clearly intentional-is blended with some genuine grandeur. The Pixar touch is evident in the precision of the visual detail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-o-scott/the-silliness-much-of-which-is-clearly-intentional-is-blended-with/) [A. O. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-o-scott/) > [Ownership in the world I have none, but I have an infinite interest in it; for if not my own it is my God's;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mountford/ownership-in-the-world-i-have-none-but-i-have-an-infinite-interest-in/) [William Mountford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mountford/) > [I look upon all four Gospels as thoroughly genuine, for there shines forth from them the reflected splendor of a sublimity proceeding from Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-look-upon-all-four-gospels-as-thoroughly-genuine-for-there-shines/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## More by Edmund Burke > [It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-the-interest-of-the-commercial-world-that-wealth-should-be/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Many of the greatest tyrants on the records of history have begun their reigns in the fairest manner. But the truth is, this unnatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/many-of-the-greatest-tyrants-on-the-records-of-history-have-begun/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Wise men will apply their remedies to vices, not to names; to the causes of evil which are permanent, not to the occasional organs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/wise-men-will-apply-their-remedies-to-vices-not-to-names-to-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [My vigour relents. I pardon something to the spirit of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/my-vigour-relents-i-pardon-something-to-the-spirit-of-liberty/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The great must submit to the dominion of prudence and of virtue, or none will long submit to the dominion of thegreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-must-submit-to-the-dominion-of-prudence-and-of-virtue-or/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [What is it we all seek for in an election? To answer its real purposes, you must first possess the means of knowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-is-it-we-all-seek-for-in-an-election-to-answer-its-real-purposes/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Society is indeed a contract. 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The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! 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