--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Photograph belongs to that class of…" description: "\"The Photograph belongs to that class of laminated objects whose two leaves cannot be separated without destroying them both: the windowpane and the lan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb3/roland-barthes-1062_class_the-photograph-belongs-to-that-class-of_2992153.png" --- # The Photograph belongs to that class of laminated objects… ![“The Photograph belongs to that class of laminated objects whose two leaves cannot be separated without destroying them both: the windowpane and the landscape, and why not: Good and Evil, desire and its object: dualities we can conceive but not perceive... Whatever it grants to vision and whatever…” quote by Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb3/roland-barthes-1062_class_the-photograph-belongs-to-that-class-of_2992153.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb3/roland-barthes-1062_class_the-photograph-belongs-to-that-class-of_2992153.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb3/roland-barthes-1062_class_the-photograph-belongs-to-that-class-of_2992153.png) > “The Photograph belongs to that class of laminated objects whose two leaves cannot be separated without destroying them both: the windowpane and the landscape, and why not: Good and Evil, desire and its object: dualities we can conceive but not perceive... Whatever it grants to vision and whatever its manner, a photograph is always invisible: it is not it that we see.” [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A photograph is a layered object that fuses two inseparable elements, reflecting dualities like good and evil, yet remains ultimately invisible beyond its surface. **In simple terms:** Photos hide deeper truths. Key Takeaway Look beyond the image. Themes art perception duality invisibility Mood analytical contemplative Type theoretical philosophical When to use this quote - gallery visits - critical analysis - creative photography Key Concepts Semiotics philosophy of representation Questions to Reflect On - What unseen layers do you notice in images? - How does duality shape your view of reality? A Different Perspective Interpretation can be subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/) [Duality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duality/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Grants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grants/) [Invisible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invisible/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Objects Leaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects-leaves-4707605/) [Perceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceive/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photograph Belongs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph-belongs-3393245/) [Photograph Invisible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph-invisible-4314211/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Why not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/why-not/) [Windowpane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/windowpane/) ## Related quotes > [A photograph is always invisible, it is not it that we see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/a-photograph-is-always-invisible-it-is-not-it-that-we-see/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“A good photograph never belongs to the past; every time you look at it, it is with you, it is alive and it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/a-good-photograph-never-belongs-to-the-past-every-time-you-look-at-it/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The true content of a photograph is invisible, for it derives from a play, not with form, but with time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-true-content-of-a-photograph-is-invisible-for-it-derives-from-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [The snow, which had fallen quietly at first, was now pelting against the windowpanes, driven by a wicked wind; the storm was rapidly assuming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-parkinson-keyes/the-snow-which-had-fallen-quietly-at-first-was-now-pelting-against/) [Frances Parkinson Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-parkinson-keyes/) > [Tricky the paths a long love might follow, like the spiral down twists of a raindrop on a windowpane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-barry/tricky-the-paths-a-long-love-might-follow-like-the-spiral-down-twists/) [Kevin Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-barry/) > [Do you hear the snow against the windowpanes, Kitty? How nice and soft it sounds! Just as if some one was kissing the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/do-you-hear-the-snow-against-the-windowpanes-kitty-how-nice-and-soft/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [“Good prose is like a windowpane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/good-prose-is-like-a-windowpane/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Why did I become a writer? A bird's feather on my windowpane in winter and all at once there arose in my heart a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/why-did-i-become-a-writer-a-bird-s-feather-on-my-windowpane-in-winter/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [Fate, Chance, God’s Will — we all try to account for our lives somehow. What are the chances that two raindrops, flung from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/fate-chance-god-s-will-we-all-try-to-account-for-our-lives-somehow/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Good writing is like a windowpane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/good-writing-is-like-a-windowpane/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [With watercolour, you can pick up the atmosphere, the temperature, the sound of snow shifting through the trees or over the ice of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wyeth/with-watercolour-you-can-pick-up-the-atmosphere-the-temperature-the/) [Andrew Wyeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wyeth/) > [Our personal dispositions are as windowpanes through which we see the world either as rosy or dull. The way we color the glasses we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/our-personal-dispositions-are-as-windowpanes-through-which-we-see-the/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [To be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves and the world -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-berman/to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an-environment-that-promises-us/) [Marshall Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-berman/) > [Why chase after thoughts, which are superficial ripples of present awareness? Rather look directly into the naked, empty nature of thoughts; then there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamgon-kongtrul/why-chase-after-thoughts-which-are-superficial-ripples-of-present/) [Jamgon Kongtrul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamgon-kongtrul/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Roland Barthes > [“Werther identifies himself with the madman, with the footman. As a reader, I can identify myself with Werther. Historically, thousands of subjects have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/werther-identifies-himself-with-the-madman-with-the-footman-as-a/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [The Text is not a definitive object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-text-is-not-a-definitive-object/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“Valéry used to speak of those people who die in an accident because they are unwilling to let go of their umbrellas; how many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/val-ry-used-to-speak-of-those-people-who-die-in-an-accident-because/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Today there is no symbolic compensation for old age, no recognition of a specific value: wisdom, perceptiveness, experience, vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/today-there-is-no-symbolic-compensation-for-old-age-no-recognition-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [The unary Photograph has every reason to be banal, 'unity' of composition being the first rule of vulgar (and notably, of academic) rhetoric: 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-unary-photograph-has-every-reason-to-be-banal-unity-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“A creative writer is one for whom writing is a problem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/a-creative-writer-is-one-for-whom-writing-is-a-problem/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“Man does not exist prior to language, either as a species or as an individual. We never encounter a state where man is separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/man-does-not-exist-prior-to-language-either-as-a-species-or-as-an/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“It is said that Time soothes mourning – No, Time makes nothing happen; it merely makes the emotivity of mourning pass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/it-is-said-that-time-soothes-mourning-no-time-makes-nothing-happen-it/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“So long as I perceive the world as hostile, I remain linked to it: \*I am not crazy\*. But sometimes, once my bad temper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/so-long-as-i-perceive-the-world-as-hostile-i-remain-linked-to-it-i-am/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [I think that cars today are almost the exact equivalent of the great Gothic cathedrals: I mean the supreme creation of an era, conceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/i-think-that-cars-today-are-almost-the-exact-equivalent-of-the-great/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“(Sartre) (The world is full without me, as in Nausea; the world plays at living behind a glass partition; the world is in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/sartre-the-world-is-full-without-me-as-in-nausea-the-world-plays-at/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“Like love, mourning affects the world—and the worldly—with unreality, with importunity. I resist the world, I suffer from what it demands of me, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/like-love-mourning-affects-the-world-and-the-worldly-with-unreality/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Painting can feign reality without having seen it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/painting-can-feign-reality-without-having-seen-it/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“There is an age at which we teach what we know. Then comes another age at which we teach what we do not know;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/there-is-an-age-at-which-we-teach-what-we-know-then-comes-another-age/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [As a jealous man, I suffer four times over: because I am jealous, because I blame myself for being so, because I fear that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/as-a-jealous-man-i-suffer-four-times-over-because-i-am-jealous/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) [Explore all 282 Roland Barthes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) ## More Class quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [I grew up in the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/i-grew-up-in-the-middle-class/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [You’re crazy,” said her best friend, Angela, as the bell rang to signal five minutes before the first class on the first day back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/you-re-crazy-said-her-best-friend-angela-as-the-bell-rang-to-signal/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [“Poor people do not go on holiday; they go home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/poor-people-do-not-go-on-holiday-they-go-home/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/because-there-are-three-classes-of-intellects-one-which-comprehends/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Right now, for many Americans, class is being foregrounded like never before because of the economic situation. It doesn't mean that race doesn't matter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/right-now-for-many-americans-class-is-being-foregrounded-like-never/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [But I don't think the Democratic Party is at eye level with the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-i-don-t-think-the-democratic-party-is-at-eye-level-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not a dancer. Never took a dance class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrishell-stause/i-m-not-a-dancer-never-took-a-dance-class/) [Chrishell Stause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrishell-stause/) > [Most startups are not just built for the person who is using them. When you do that, every now and then you get really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-shear/most-startups-are-not-just-built-for-the-person-who-is-using-them/) [Emmett Shear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-shear/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [We are not going back to the failed policies of the past. We are fighting for the middle class!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/we-are-not-going-back-to-the-failed-policies-of-the-past-we-are/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) [Browse all 7,637 Class quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Photograph belongs to that class of laminated objects whose two leaves cannot be separated without destroying them both: the windowpane and the landscape, and why not: Good and Evil, desire and its object: dualities we can conceive but not perceive... Whatever it grants to vision and whatever its manner, a photograph is always invisible: it is not it that we see.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roland Barthes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-photograph-belongs-to-that-class-of-laminated-objects-whose-two/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Class" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-photograph-belongs-to-that-class-of-laminated-objects-whose-two/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb3/roland-barthes-1062_class_the-photograph-belongs-to-that-class-of_2992153.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb3/roland-barthes-1062_class_the-photograph-belongs-to-that-class-of_2992153.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb3/roland-barthes-1062_class_the-photograph-belongs-to-that-class-of_2992153.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Photograph belongs to that class of laminated objects whose two leaves cannot be separated without…” — Roland Barthes", "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": "Roland Barthes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Photograph belongs to that class...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-photograph-belongs-to-that-class-of-laminated-objects-whose-two/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-photograph-belongs-to-that-class-of-laminated-objects-whose-two/#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 } } ] } ```