Art Quote by James Madison
“Whilst the last members were signing it Doctr. Franklin looking towards the Presidents chair, at the back of which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a few members near him, that Painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising from a setting sun.”
About This Quote
Source Historical record: Early US Senate meeting, 1790
Madison observed painters struggled to tell sunrise from sunset in a painted scene.
In simple terms: Artists find it hard to distinguish sunrise from sunset.
Key Takeaway
Recognize subtle visual differences in art.
Themes
art
observation
detail
Mood
analytical
thoughtful
Type
historical
educational
When to use this quote
- art education
- museum curation
- historical analysis
Key Concepts
visual perception
historical context
Questions to Reflect On
- Why does distinguishing light matter in painting?
- What does this tell about artistic challenges?
A Different Perspective
May be a minor anecdote.
![“The great objects which presented themselves [to the Constitutional Convention] ... formed a task more difficult than can be well conceived by those who were not concerned in the execution of it. Adding to these considerations the natural diversity of human opinions on all new and complicated…” quote by James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/eb8/james-madison-373_complicated_the-great-objects-which-presented-themse_2985361.jpg)
![“In framing a system which we wish to last for ages, we shd. not lose sight of the changes which ages will produce. [James Madison in the U.S. Constitutional Convention, June 26, 1787. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, ed. Max Farrand (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966), 1:422.]” quote by James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/301/james-madison-373_constitution_in-framing-a-system-which-we-wish-to-las_2108455.jpg)
![“...[at the Constitutional Convention] the States were divided into different interests not by their difference of size, but principally from their having or not having slaves. It did not lie between the large and small States: it lay between the Northern and Southern.” quote by James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f2a/james-madison-373_constitutional-conve_at-the-constitutional-convention-the-sta_1425365.jpg)
![“It is certain that every class is interested in [educational] establishments which give to the human mind its highest improvements, and to every Country its truest and most durable celebrity.” quote by James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/964/james-madison-373_certain_it-is-certain-that-every-class-is-intere_22217.jpg)
