--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The image can only be studied through the…" description: "\"The image can only be studied through the image, by dreaming images as they gather in reverie. It is a non-sense to claim to study imagination objectiv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/gaston-bachelard-2318_admire_the-image-can-only-be-studied-through-th_31652.png" --- # The image can only be studied through the image, by… ![“The image can only be studied through the image, by dreaming images as they gather in reverie. It is a non-sense to claim to study imagination objectively since one really receives the image only if he admires it. Already in comparing one image to another, one runs the risk of losing participation…” quote by Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/gaston-bachelard-2318_admire_the-image-can-only-be-studied-through-th_31652.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/gaston-bachelard-2318_admire_the-image-can-only-be-studied-through-th_31652.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/gaston-bachelard-2318_admire_the-image-can-only-be-studied-through-th_31652.png) > “The image can only be studied through the image, by dreaming images as they gather in reverie. It is a non-sense to claim to study imagination objectively since one really receives the image only if he admires it. Already in comparing one image to another, one runs the risk of losing participation in its individuality.” [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination is accessed subjectively; studying it requires personal immersion, not detached analysis. **In simple terms:** Subjective study of imagination Key Takeaway Objectivity erodes image individuality Themes subjectivity imagination perception a individuality Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - art criticism - creative writing - psychology research - philosophical essay Key Concepts image dream reverie Practical Applications - creative workshops - visual arts education Questions to Reflect On - How does personal engagement shape our understanding of images? - Can objective methods ever capture the essence of imagination? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admire/) [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Compare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compare/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreaming Images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreaming-images-428564/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Image Dreaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/image-dreaming-428563/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Objectively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-objectively-428561/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [Losing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losing/) [Objectivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objectivity/) [Participation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participation/) [Reverie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reverie/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Study Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study-imagination-428562/) ## Related quotes > [If there is any realm where distinction is especially difficult, it is the realm of childhood memories, the realm of beloved images harbored in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/if-there-is-any-realm-where-distinction-is-especially-difficult-it-is/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In living off all the reflecting light furnished by poets, the I which dreams the reverie reveals itself not as poet but as poetizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-living-off-all-the-reflecting-light-furnished-by-poets-the-i-which/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [“Childhood is a human water, a water which comes out of the shadows. 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Since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/reverie-is-commonly-classified-among-the-phenomena-of-psychic-detente/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [The psychology of the alchemist is that of reveries trying to constitute themselves in experiments on the exterior world. A double vocabulary must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-psychology-of-the-alchemist-is-that-of-reveries-trying-to/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [How is it possible not to feel that there is communication between our solitude as a dreamer and the solitudes of childhood? And it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/how-is-it-possible-not-to-feel-that-there-is-communication-between/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In contrast to a dream a reverie cannot be recounted. To be communicated, it must be written, written with emotion and taste, being relived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-contrast-to-a-dream-a-reverie-cannot-be-recounted-to-be/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Cosmic reveries separate us from project reveries. They situate us in a world and not in a society. The cosmic reverie possesses a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/cosmic-reveries-separate-us-from-project-reveries-they-situate-us-in/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [All the senses awaken and fall into harmony in poetic reverie. Poetic reverie listens to this polyphony of the senses, and the poetic consciousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/all-the-senses-awaken-and-fall-into-harmony-in-poetic-reverie-poetic/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Words, in their distant past, have the past of my reveries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/words-in-their-distant-past-have-the-past-of-my-reveries/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [The spoken reverie of substances calls matter to birth, to life, to spirituality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-spoken-reverie-of-substances-calls-matter-to-birth-to-life-to/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Reverie is not a mind vacuum. It is rather the gift of an hour which knows the plenitude of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/reverie-is-not-a-mind-vacuum-it-is-rather-the-gift-of-an-hour-which/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Here we are at the very core of the thesis we wish to defend in the present essay: reverie is under the sign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/here-we-are-at-the-very-core-of-the-thesis-we-wish-to-defend-in-the/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [The past of the soul is so distant! The soul does not live on the edge of time. It finds its rest in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-past-of-the-soul-is-so-distant-the-soul-does-not-live-on-the-edge/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) ## More by Gaston Bachelard > [Dreaming by the river, I dedicated my imagination to water, to clear, green water, the water that makes the meadows green.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/dreaming-by-the-river-i-dedicated-my-imagination-to-water-to-clear/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [If we did not have a feminine being within us, how would we rest ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/if-we-did-not-have-a-feminine-being-within-us-how-would-we-rest/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [If there is any realm where distinction is especially difficult, it is the realm of childhood memories, the realm of beloved images harbored in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/if-there-is-any-realm-where-distinction-is-especially-difficult-it-is/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In scientific thought, the concept functions all the better for being cut off from all background images. 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One hears them with their sounds divorced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-writing-you-discover-interior-sonorities-in-words-dipthongs-sound/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Here we are at the very core of the thesis we wish to defend in the present essay: reverie is under the sign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/here-we-are-at-the-very-core-of-the-thesis-we-wish-to-defend-in-the/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [There are children who will leave a game to go and be bored in a corner of the garret. How often have I wished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/there-are-children-who-will-leave-a-game-to-go-and-be-bored-in-a/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Ideas are refined and multiplied in the commerce of minds. In their splendor, images effect a very simple communion of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/ideas-are-refined-and-multiplied-in-the-commerce-of-minds-in-their/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [The poetic image is a sudden salience on the surface of the psyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-poetic-image-is-a-sudden-salience-on-the-surface-of-the-psyche/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In our view any awareness is an increment to consciousness, an added light, a reinforcement of psychic coherence. Its swiftness or instantaneity can hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-our-view-any-awareness-is-an-increment-to-consciousness-an-added/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Imagination is a tree. It has the integrative virtues of a tree. It is root and boughs. It lives between earth and sky. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/imagination-is-a-tree-it-has-the-integrative-virtues-of-a-tree-it-is/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Two half philosophers will probably never a whole metaphysician make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/two-half-philosophers-will-probably-never-a-whole-metaphysician-make/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Irony gives us, at little expense, the impression that we are experienced psychologists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/irony-gives-us-at-little-expense-the-impression-that-we-are/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [For in the end, the irreality function functions as well in the face of man as in the face of the cosmos. What would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/for-in-the-end-the-irreality-function-functions-as-well-in-the-face/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) [Explore all 166 Gaston Bachelard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) ## More Admire quotes > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I admire Serena Williams, because, I mean, who doesn't admire Serena Williams?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-konta/i-admire-serena-williams-because-i-mean-who-doesn-t-admire-serena/) [Johanna Konta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-konta/) > [How proud I am to be compared to Oprah. I really admire her. She's a minority woman and she's done all this by herself...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-saralegui/how-proud-i-am-to-be-compared-to-oprah-i-really-admire-her-she-s-a/) [Cristina Saralegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-saralegui/) > [I admire President Obama's ability to trust strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-admire-president-obama-s-ability-to-trust-strangers/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [I really admire people's interactions with technology that aren't tech-centric but use it as a tool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/i-really-admire-people-s-interactions-with-technology-that-aren-t/) [Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/) > [During my first years in the Sierra, I was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them, but I found no one half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/during-my-first-years-in-the-sierra-i-was-ever-calling-on-everybody/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Shaw's works make me admire the magnificent tolerance and broadmindedness of the english.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/shaw-s-works-make-me-admire-the-magnificent-tolerance-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [It could be my British need for discipline that makes me admire the American appetite for freedom and passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/it-could-be-my-british-need-for-discipline-that-makes-me-admire-the/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [I believe in a world where there are no heroes, and I've read and know humanity a lot. 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It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-think-it-s-really-good-and-helpful-to-have-the-people-you-most/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [Part of what we admire about a painting or a piece of music is the order which the artist has imposed upon what would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-storr/part-of-what-we-admire-about-a-painting-or-a-piece-of-music-is-the/) [Anthony Storr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-storr/) > [I respect and admire the Premier League.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-koeman/i-respect-and-admire-the-premier-league/) [Ronald Koeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-koeman/) > [“Admire and appreciate your man and he will be happy on your side”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-alfiori/admire-and-appreciate-your-man-and-he-will-be-happy-on-your-side/) [Linda Alfiori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-alfiori/) > [“The thing I admire most about you is no matter how hard, or how much the world has tried to beat you, break you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-gill/the-thing-i-admire-most-about-you-is-no-matter-how-hard-or-how-much/) [Nikita Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-gill/) [Browse all 2,369 Admire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The image can only be studied through the image, by dreaming images as they gather in reverie. 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