--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The exact eye: exact observation: it was…" description: "\"“The exact eye: exact observation: it was a man's work. The only work for a man. Why then were artists soft: effeminate: not men at all: whilst the arm..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/ford-madox-ford-3409_art_the-exact-eye-exact-observation-it-was-a_871558.png" --- # The exact eye: exact observation: it was a man's work. The… ![“The exact eye: exact observation: it was a man's work. The only work for a man. Why then were artists soft: effeminate: not men at all: whilst the army officer, who had the inexact mind of the schoolteacher, was a manly man? Quite a manly man: until he became an old woman!” quote by Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/ford-madox-ford-3409_art_the-exact-eye-exact-observation-it-was-a_871558.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/ford-madox-ford-3409_art_the-exact-eye-exact-observation-it-was-a_871558.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/ford-madox-ford-3409_art_the-exact-eye-exact-observation-it-was-a_871558.png) > ““The exact eye: exact observation: it was a man's work. The only work for a man. Why then were artists soft: effeminate: not men at all: whilst the army officer, who had the inexact mind of the schoolteacher, was a manly man? Quite a manly man: until he became an old woman!”” [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artistic sensitivity is portrayed as weaker than militaristic rigidity, questioning gendered stereotypes of strength. **In simple terms:** Art is seen as soft, soldiers as strong. Key Takeaway Challenge stereotypes about masculinity and creativity. Themes masculinity art military gender roles Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - creative professions - military life - education - leadership development Key Concepts sociology gender studies stereotype critique Questions to Reflect On - Can artistic sensitivity be a form of strength? - How do gender expectations limit personal expression? A Different Perspective The view simplifies complex identities, ignoring that strength can be expressed in many forms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Parade-s-end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parade-s-end/) [Tietjens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tietjens/) ## Related quotes > [“But to betray her with battalion... That is against decency, against Nature...And for him, Christopher tietjens, to come down to the level of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/but-to-betray-her-with-battalion-that-is-against-decency-against/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“The handful of Germans who had reached the trench had been sacrificed for the stupid sort of fun called. Strategy, probably. 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Żadnego pijanego rzucania się do gardeł bandytów-imbecyli... - Moja matka by zwariowała! - powiedziała Sylwia. - Bynajmniej…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/a-t-wojn-b-dzie-warto-zobaczy-adnego-pijanego-rzucania-si-do-garde/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“Old Campion had once said he believed - he positively believed, with shudders - that Christopher desired to live in the spirit of Christ.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/old-campion-had-once-said-he-believed-he-positively-believed-with/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“That monstrosity you honour with your name - which is also mine, thank you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/that-monstrosity-you-honour-with-your-name-which-is-also-mine-thank/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“But always, at moments when his mind was like a blind octopus, squirming in an agony of knife-cuts, she would drop in that accusation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/but-always-at-moments-when-his-mind-was-like-a-blind-octopus/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“The room where they were dancing was very dark… It was queer to be in his arms… She had known better dancers… He had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/the-room-where-they-were-dancing-was-very-dark-it-was-queer-to-be-in/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“She warned him that, if he got killed, she should cut down the great cedar at the south-west corner of Groby. It kept all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/she-warned-him-that-if-he-got-killed-she-should-cut-down-the-great/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“being a miner he sat on his heels more comfortably than on a chair”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/being-a-miner-he-sat-on-his-heels-more-comfortably-than-on-a-chair/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“He was grotesque, really. But joy radiated from his homespuns when you walked beside him. It welled out; it enveloped you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/he-was-grotesque-really-but-joy-radiated-from-his-homespuns-when-you/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“He was a successful general because he knew men. He knew that all men will go to hell over three things: alcohol, money .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/he-was-a-successful-general-because-he-knew-men-he-knew-that-all-men/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“It was probably indecent to think of a corpse as impotent. But he was, very likely. That would be why his wife had taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/it-was-probably-indecent-to-think-of-a-corpse-as-impotent-but-he-was/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) ## More by Ford Madox Ford > [New York is large, glamorous, easy-going, kindly and incurious, but above all it is a crucible - because it is large enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/new-york-is-large-glamorous-easy-going-kindly-and-incurious-but-above/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“You can't kill a minuet de la coeur. You may shut up the music book... but surely the minuet-- the minuet itself is dancing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/you-can-t-kill-a-minuet-de-la-coeur-you-may-shut-up-the-music-book/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“You see in such a world as this, an idealist -or perhaps it's only a sentimentalist-must be stoned to death. He makes the others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/you-see-in-such-a-world-as-this-an-idealist-or-perhaps-it-s-only-a/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“A gentleman in those days consulted his heirs about tree planting. Should you plant a group of copper beeches against a group of white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/a-gentleman-in-those-days-consulted-his-heirs-about-tree-planting/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“How was it possible that the most honourable man she knew should be so overwhelmed by foul and baseless rumours? It made you suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/how-was-it-possible-that-the-most-honourable-man-she-knew-should-be/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [It is not merely that people must die and people must suffer, if not here, then there. But what is dreadful is that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/it-is-not-merely-that-people-must-die-and-people-must-suffer-if-not/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“But upon my word, I don't know how we put in our time. How does one put in one's time? How is it possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/but-upon-my-word-i-don-t-know-how-we-put-in-our-time-how-does-one-put/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [In every man there are two minds that work side by side, the one checking the other; thus emotion stands against reason, intellect corrects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/in-every-man-there-are-two-minds-that-work-side-by-side-the-one/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“No, by God, it is false! It wasn't a minuet that we stepped; it was a prison - a prison full of screaming hysterics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/no-by-god-it-is-false-it-wasn-t-a-minuet-that-we-stepped-it-was-a/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [Damn it all, it's the first duty of a soldier - it's the first duty of all Englishmen - to be able to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/damn-it-all-it-s-the-first-duty-of-a-soldier-it-s-the-first-duty-of/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“Yes, society must go on; it must breed, like rabbits. That is what we are here for. But then, I don't like society—much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/yes-society-must-go-on-it-must-breed-like-rabbits-that-is-what-we-are/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“The signal for the train's departure was a very bright red; that is about as passionate a statement as I can get into that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/the-signal-for-the-train-s-departure-was-a-very-bright-red-that-is/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [The world is full of places to which I want to return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/the-world-is-full-of-places-to-which-i-want-to-return/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [...she had always known under her mind and now she confessed it: her agony had been, half of it, because one day he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/she-had-always-known-under-her-mind-and-now-she-confessed-it-her/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“I like the slow, smooth roll of the great big trains—and they are the best trains in the world! I like being drawn through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/i-like-the-slow-smooth-roll-of-the-great-big-trains-and-they-are-the/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) [Explore all 124 Ford Madox Ford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) ## More Art quotes > [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/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [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/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“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 > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [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 only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [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/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The exact eye: exact observation: it was a man's work. 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