--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Grandeur of effect is produced by two…" description: "\"Grandeur of effect is produced by two different ways which seem entirely opposed to each other. One is by reducing the colors to little more than chiar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/joshua-reynolds-8159_chiaroscuro_grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-di_82294.jpg" --- # Grandeur of effect is produced by two different ways which… ![“Grandeur of effect is produced by two different ways which seem entirely opposed to each other. One is by reducing the colors to little more than chiaroscuro... and the other, by making the colors very distinct and forcible... but still, the presiding principle of both those manners is simplicity.” quote by Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/joshua-reynolds-8159_chiaroscuro_grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-di_82294.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/joshua-reynolds-8159_chiaroscuro_grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-di_82294.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/joshua-reynolds-8159_chiaroscuro_grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-di_82294.jpg) > “Grandeur of effect is produced by two different ways which seem entirely opposed to each other. One is by reducing the colors to little more than chiaroscuro... and the other, by making the colors very distinct and forcible... but still, the presiding principle of both those manners is simplicity.” [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great impact arises from two opposing techniques—subtle tonal contrast or bold, vivid colors—yet both rely on simplicity as the core principle. **In simple terms:** Simplicity underlies contrasting visual strategies. Key Takeaway Simplicity drives artistic power. Themes contrasting techniques visual impact simplicity color theory artistic balance Mood thoughtful inspired Type artistic insight philosophical observation When to use this quote - painting a portrait - designing a logo - creating a stage set - illustrating a book - directing a film scene Key Concepts tone color composition Practical Applications - visual storytelling - graphic design Questions to Reflect On - How does simplicity amplify contrast? - When might complexity be preferable? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chiaroscuro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiaroscuro/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Grandeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandeur/) [Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) ## Related quotes > [Flowers produce an effect on me which can only be produced in an equal degree by music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-alington-barnard/flowers-produce-an-effect-on-me-which-can-only-be-produced-in-an/) [Charlotte Alington Barnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-alington-barnard/) > [The effect produced by a short story depends almost entirely on its form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-effect-produced-by-a-short-story-depends-almost-entirely-on-its/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Affect: To produce a change in Effect: Something that is produced, a result or consequence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/affect-to-produce-a-change-in-effect-something-that-is-produced-a/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“I was working with a Crookes tube covered by a shield of black cardboard. A piece of barium platino-cyanide paper lay on the bench…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-working-with-a-crookes-tube-covered-by-a-shield-of-black/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Our room swallowed light whole. Even in summer when sunlight glared through the windows, it was somehow dim inside. Now it was only Easter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-west/our-room-swallowed-light-whole-even-in-summer-when-sunlight-glared/) Mason West > [In each of us lie good and bad, light and dark, art and pain, choice and regret, cruelty and sacrifice... No one can live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/in-each-of-us-lie-good-and-bad-light-and-dark-art-and-pain-choice-and/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [Our mind is the canvas on which the artists lay their colour; their pigments are our emotions; their chiaroscuro the light of joy, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-mind-is-the-canvas-on-which-the-artists-lay-their-colour-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The rat called Chiaroscuro did not look away. He let the light from the upstairs world enter him and fill him. He gasped aloud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/the-rat-called-chiaroscuro-did-not-look-away-he-let-the-light-from/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [Although the noise of the chattering clientele is much more significant than the topics of their chatter, it does finally constitute that type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/although-the-noise-of-the-chattering-clientele-is-much-more/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [All painting worth its name, unless one is talking about black and white, must include the idea of color as one of its necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-delacroix/all-painting-worth-its-name-unless-one-is-talking-about-black-and/) [Eugene Delacroix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-delacroix/) > [ He \[the artist\] ought to have 'these powerful organs of expression' - colour and chiaroscuro - entirely at his command, that he may use… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-constable/he-the-artist-ought-to-have-these-powerful-organs-of-expression/) [John Constable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-constable/) > [A modeled form is less striking than one which is not. Modeling prevents shock and limits movement to the visual depth. Without modeling or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/a-modeled-form-is-less-striking-than-one-which-is-not-modeling/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [The amount of chiaroscuro an idea harbors is the only index of its profundity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/the-amount-of-chiaroscuro-an-idea-harbors-is-the-only-index-of-its/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [The passionate reactions of people to a painting, the exclamation, 'Oh, this is wonderful,' may, even if meant in a positive way, entirely destroy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-louise-von-franz/the-passionate-reactions-of-people-to-a-painting-the-exclamation-oh/) [Marie-Louise von Franz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-louise-von-franz/) > [“Courage is the chiaroscuro of characteristics. By that I mean I don’t know what I mean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/courage-is-the-chiaroscuro-of-characteristics-by-that-i-mean-i-don-t/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## More by Joshua Reynolds > [Words should be employed as the means, not the end; language is the instrument, conviction is the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/words-should-be-employed-as-the-means-not-the-end-language-is-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [And he who does not know himself does not know others, so it may be said with equal truth, that he who does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/and-he-who-does-not-know-himself-does-not-know-others-so-it-may-be/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [If you have great talents, industry will improve them: if you have but moderate abilities, industry will supply their deficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/if-you-have-great-talents-industry-will-improve-them-if-you-have-but/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Certainly, nothing can be more simple than monotony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/certainly-nothing-can-be-more-simple-than-monotony/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [The real character of a man is found out by his amusements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/the-real-character-of-a-man-is-found-out-by-his-amusements/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [A mere copier of nature can never produce anything great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/a-mere-copier-of-nature-can-never-produce-anything-great/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [The general ideas which are expressed in sketches, correspond very well to the art often used in poetry... every reader making out the detail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/the-general-ideas-which-are-expressed-in-sketches-correspond-very/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [All the gestures of children are graceful; the reign of distortion and unnatural attitudes commences with the introduction of the dancing master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/all-the-gestures-of-children-are-graceful-the-reign-of-distortion-and/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Our studies will be forever, in a very great degree, under the direction of chance; like travelers, we must take what we can get,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/our-studies-will-be-forever-in-a-very-great-degree-under-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Style in painting is the same as in writing; a power over materials, whether words or colors, by which conceptions or sentiments are conveyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/style-in-painting-is-the-same-as-in-writing-a-power-over-materials/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [The distinct blue, red, and yellow colors... though they have not the kind of harmony which is produced by a variety of broken and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/the-distinct-blue-red-and-yellow-colors-though-they-have-not-the-kind/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [I do not see in what manner practice alone can be sufficient for the production of correct, excellent, and finished pictures. Works deserving this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/i-do-not-see-in-what-manner-practice-alone-can-be-sufficient-for-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [There can be no doubt but that he who has the most materials has the greatest means of invention...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/there-can-be-no-doubt-but-that-he-who-has-the-most-materials-has-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Excellence is never granted to man, but as the reward of labour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/excellence-is-never-granted-to-man-but-as-the-reward-of-labour/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Could we teach taste or genius by rules, they would be no longer taste and genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/could-we-teach-taste-or-genius-by-rules-they-would-be-no-longer-taste/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) [Explore all 83 Joshua Reynolds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) ## More Chiaroscuro quotes > [“Our room swallowed light whole. Even in summer when sunlight glared through the windows, it was somehow dim inside. Now it was only Easter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-west/our-room-swallowed-light-whole-even-in-summer-when-sunlight-glared/) Mason West > [The passionate reactions of people to a painting, the exclamation, 'Oh, this is wonderful,' may, even if meant in a positive way, entirely destroy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-louise-von-franz/the-passionate-reactions-of-people-to-a-painting-the-exclamation-oh/) [Marie-Louise von Franz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-louise-von-franz/) > [The amount of chiaroscuro an idea harbors is the only index of its profundity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/the-amount-of-chiaroscuro-an-idea-harbors-is-the-only-index-of-its/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [A modeled form is less striking than one which is not. Modeling prevents shock and limits movement to the visual depth. Without modeling or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/a-modeled-form-is-less-striking-than-one-which-is-not-modeling/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [ He \[the artist\] ought to have 'these powerful organs of expression' - colour and chiaroscuro - entirely at his command, that he may use… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-constable/he-the-artist-ought-to-have-these-powerful-organs-of-expression/) [John Constable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-constable/) > [All painting worth its name, unless one is talking about black and white, must include the idea of color as one of its necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-delacroix/all-painting-worth-its-name-unless-one-is-talking-about-black-and/) [Eugene Delacroix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-delacroix/) > [Although the noise of the chattering clientele is much more significant than the topics of their chatter, it does finally constitute that type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/although-the-noise-of-the-chattering-clientele-is-much-more/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [“The rat called Chiaroscuro did not look away. He let the light from the upstairs world enter him and fill him. He gasped aloud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/the-rat-called-chiaroscuro-did-not-look-away-he-let-the-light-from/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [Our mind is the canvas on which the artists lay their colour; their pigments are our emotions; their chiaroscuro the light of joy, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-mind-is-the-canvas-on-which-the-artists-lay-their-colour-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In each of us lie good and bad, light and dark, art and pain, choice and regret, cruelty and sacrifice... No one can live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/in-each-of-us-lie-good-and-bad-light-and-dark-art-and-pain-choice-and/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [“Courage is the chiaroscuro of characteristics. By that I mean I don’t know what I mean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/courage-is-the-chiaroscuro-of-characteristics-by-that-i-mean-i-don-t/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [In each of us lie good and bad, light and dark, art and pain, choice and regret, cruelty and sacrifice. We’re each of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/in-each-of-us-lie-good-and-bad-light-and-dark-art-and-pain-choice-and-2/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [There are those hearts, reader, that never mend again once they are broken. Or if they do mend, they heal themselves in a crooked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/there-are-those-hearts-reader-that-never-mend-again-once-they-are-2/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [No one can live in the light all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/no-one-can-live-in-the-light-all-the-time/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [“We're each of us our own chiaroscuro, our own bit of illusion trying to emerge into something solid, something real. We've got to forgive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/we-re-each-of-us-our-own-chiaroscuro-our-own-bit-of-illusion-trying/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) [Browse all 18 Chiaroscuro quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiaroscuro/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Grandeur of effect is produced by two different ways which seem entirely opposed to each other. One is by reducing the colors to little more than chiaroscuro... and the other, by making the colors very distinct and forcible... but still, the presiding principle of both those manners is simplicity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joshua Reynolds" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-different-ways-which-seem/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chiaroscuro" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-different-ways-which-seem/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/joshua-reynolds-8159_chiaroscuro_grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-di_82294.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/joshua-reynolds-8159_chiaroscuro_grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-di_82294.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/joshua-reynolds-8159_chiaroscuro_grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-di_82294.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Grandeur of effect is produced by two different ways which seem entirely opposed to each other. One is by…” — Joshua Reynolds", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joshua Reynolds", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Grandeur of effect is produced by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-different-ways-which-seem/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-different-ways-which-seem/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```