--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bartholomeus went on, 'I wanted to show…" description: "\"“Bartholomeus went on, 'I wanted to show that these objects are sensitive, suffer at the coming of night, faint at the departure of the last rays, whic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/georges-rodenbach-9570_darkness_bartholomeus-went-on-i-wanted-to-show-th_2447521.jpg" --- # Bartholomeus went on, 'I wanted to show that these objects… ![“Bartholomeus went on, 'I wanted to show that these objects are sensitive, suffer at the coming of night, faint at the departure of the last rays, which, by the way, also live in this room; they suffer as much, they fight against the darkness. There you have it. It's the life of things, if you…” quote by Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/georges-rodenbach-9570_darkness_bartholomeus-went-on-i-wanted-to-show-th_2447521.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/georges-rodenbach-9570_darkness_bartholomeus-went-on-i-wanted-to-show-th_2447521.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/georges-rodenbach-9570_darkness_bartholomeus-went-on-i-wanted-to-show-th_2447521.jpg) > ““Bartholomeus went on, 'I wanted to show that these objects are sensitive, suffer at the coming of night, faint at the departure of the last rays, which, by the way, also live in this room; they suffer as much, they fight against the darkness. There you have it. It's the life of things, if you like. The French would call it a nature morte, a picture of inanimate objects. That is not what I'm trying to show. Flemish puts it better: a still life.”” [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on how inanimate objects seem to possess a hidden vitality, reacting to light and darkness, suggesting that still life captures an unseen struggle against oblivion. **In simple terms:** Objects appear alive, reacting to light and dark. Key Takeaway Observe the subtle life in everyday things. Themes perception art existence light darkness Mood contemplative poetic Type artistic reflective When to use this quote - museum observation - photography - interior design - creative writing - mindfulness Key Concepts Phenomenology aesthetic ontological Questions to Reflect On - How do you notice life in the mundane? - What does darkness symbolize in your perception? A Different Perspective The metaphor may over‑anthropomorphize objects, ignoring their true inert nature. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Inanimate objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inanimate-objects/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Morte Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morte-picture-542103/) [Nature Morte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-morte-542104/) [Objects Sensitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects-sensitive-542106/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Picture Inanimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture-inanimate-542105/) [Still life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/still-life/) ## Related quotes > [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“It is thus that inanimate objects seem to soak up the essence of living things, and later cause pain or pleasure when we merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-george/it-is-thus-that-inanimate-objects-seem-to-soak-up-the-essence-of/) [Margaret George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-george/) > ["Is Art worth dying for?" 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Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Pronouns really don't matter in a song - 'I' or 'he' or 'she' or even subscribing a lyric to an inanimate object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/pronouns-really-don-t-matter-in-a-song-i-or-he-or-she-or-even/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) ## More by Georges Rodenbach > [“Mevr. Cadzand feared for her son who, with his responsive nature, as sensitive as a hothouse plant, was more exposed. Fortunately religion is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/mevr-cadzand-feared-for-her-son-who-with-his-responsive-nature-as/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“A great melancholy was hanging in the air, giving their love a more languid, more tender feeling. 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They, too, have their gargoyles, singular figures, exaggerated, dubious, set in high profile. They stand out from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/dead-towns-are-the-cathedrals-of-silence-they-too-have-their/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“Is it not strange how quickly one can become detached from everything? How empty life appears when one is close to death!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/is-it-not-strange-how-quickly-one-can-become-detached-from-everything/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“(We) fell out of love with life for having learnt too much of death. ("At School")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/we-fell-out-of-love-with-life-for-having-learnt-too-much-of-death-at/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“Does it not sometimes happen in life that our actions are solely for an enemy, so as to stand up to him, to confound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/does-it-not-sometimes-happen-in-life-that-our-actions-are-solely-for/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“That is the way it is, we always fall in love because of a detail, a nuance. It is a marker we set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/that-is-the-way-it-is-we-always-fall-in-love-because-of-a-detail-a/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“In Bruges he had carried out a work which was anonymous and brought no glory, but was seen as admirable once it had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/in-bruges-he-had-carried-out-a-work-which-was-anonymous-and-brought/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“—that exquisite sensual pleasure of collectors, who are a tactile species—”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/that-exquisite-sensual-pleasure-of-collectors-who-are-a-tactile/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“The widower reviewed his past in a sunless light which was intensified by the greyness of the November twilight, whilst the bells subtly impregnated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/the-widower-reviewed-his-past-in-a-sunless-light-which-was/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) [Explore all 70 Georges Rodenbach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? 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Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Bartholomeus went on, 'I wanted to show that these objects are sensitive, suffer at the coming of night, faint at the departure of the last rays, which, by the way, also live in this room; they suffer as much, they fight against the darkness. There you have it. It's the life of things, if you like. The French would call it a nature morte, a picture of inanimate objects. That is not what I'm trying to show. 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