--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Between two fantasy alternatives, that…" description: "\"Between two fantasy alternatives, that Holbein the Younger had lived long enough to have painted Shakespeare or that a prototype of the camera had been..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68f/susan-sontag-332_alternatives_between-two-fantasy-alternatives-that-ho_1735168.jpg" --- # Between two fantasy alternatives, that Holbein the Younger… ![“Between two fantasy alternatives, that Holbein the Younger had lived long enough to have painted Shakespeare or that a prototype of the camera had been invented early enough to have photographed him, most Bardolators would choose the photograph. This is not just because it would presumably show…” quote by Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68f/susan-sontag-332_alternatives_between-two-fantasy-alternatives-that-ho_1735168.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68f/susan-sontag-332_alternatives_between-two-fantasy-alternatives-that-ho_1735168.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68f/susan-sontag-332_alternatives_between-two-fantasy-alternatives-that-ho_1735168.jpg) > “Between two fantasy alternatives, that Holbein the Younger had lived long enough to have painted Shakespeare or that a prototype of the camera had been invented early enough to have photographed him, most Bardolators would choose the photograph. This is not just because it would presumably show what Shakespeare really looked like, for even if the photograph were faded, barely legible, a brownish shadow, we would probably still prefer it to another glorious Holbein. Having a photograph of Shakespeare would be like having a nail from the True Cross.” [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People tend to value photographic evidence over artistic representation because it feels more authentic, even if the image is imperfect. **In simple terms:** Photos seem more real than paintings. Key Takeaway Recognize the bias toward visual proof. Themes authenticity representation history perception art truth Mood reflective critical inquisitive Type analytical philosophical cultural When to use this quote - museum curation - academic research - public exhibitions - digital archiving Key Concepts media theory visual culture historical epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How does the medium shape our belief in authenticity? - What are the limits of visual evidence? A Different Perspective Photographs can be misleading or manipulated, challenging their reliability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alternatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternatives/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Choose Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-photograph-380959/) [Crosses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crosses/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Faded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faded/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Glorious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glorious/) [Having Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-photograph-582779/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Nails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nails/) [Painted Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painted-shakespeare-1466361/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photograph Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph-shakespeare-1466359/) [Photographed Bardolators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographed-bardolators-1466360/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Prototype](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prototype/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [While a painting, even one that meets photographic standards of resemblance, is never more than the stating of an interpretation, a photograph is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/while-a-painting-even-one-that-meets-photographic-standards-of-2/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Everything I choose to photograph, I think is beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juergen-teller/everything-i-choose-to-photograph-i-think-is-beautiful/) [Juergen Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juergen-teller/) > [I think you reveal yourself by what you choose to photograph, but I prefer photographs that tell more about the subject. 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I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/i-love-having-the-photograph-in-my-hand-i-love-looking-at-the/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [Sometimes I suspect that there are two prototypes of philosophers who write about humans - I call them "celestials" and "terrestrials", without implying that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/sometimes-i-suspect-that-there-are-two-prototypes-of-philosophers-who/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [Everything about my journey to get Spanx off the ground entailed me having to be a salesperson - from going to the hosiery mills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-blakely/everything-about-my-journey-to-get-spanx-off-the-ground-entailed-me/) [Sara Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-blakely/) > [A source of strength in the early days was that groups in various parts of the world were prepared to construct experimental computers without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/a-source-of-strength-in-the-early-days-was-that-groups-in-various/) [Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/) > [This is another lie. 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The very working of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/one-set-of-messages-of-the-society-we-live-in-is-consume-grow-do-what/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Currently intellectuals in Western Europe and North America are extremely demoralized and shaken by the rise of a virulent conservative tendency (which some have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/currently-intellectuals-in-western-europe-and-north-america-are/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [With the modern diseases (once TB, now cancer) the romantic idea that the disease expresses the character is invariably extended to assert that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/with-the-modern-diseases-once-tb-now-cancer-the-romantic-idea-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The creative phase of an idea coincides with the period during which it insists, cantankerously, on its boundaries, on what makes it different; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-creative-phase-of-an-idea-coincides-with-the-period-during-which/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Photographs objectify: they turn an event or a person into something that can be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photographs-objectify-they-turn-an-event-or-a-person-into-something/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I'm not interested in giving aid and comfort to the neo­-Conservatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/i-m-not-interested-in-giving-aid-and-comfort-to-the-neo-conservatives/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The feminist movement has been important to me because it's made me feel less odd and also because it has made me understand some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-feminist-movement-has-been-important-to-me-because-it-s-made-me/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) [Explore all 644 Susan Sontag quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## More Alternatives quotes > [I am very sad that some designers are still using real fur when the fake alternatives are so effective and so easily obtainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/i-am-very-sad-that-some-designers-are-still-using-real-fur-when-the/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. 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