--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To my eye Rubens' colouring is most…" description: "\"To my eye Rubens' colouring is most contemptible. His shadows are a filthy brown somewhat the colour of excrement.\" — William Blake" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/william-blake-397_brown_to-my-eye-rubens-colouring-is-most-conte_734541.jpg" --- # To my eye Rubens' colouring is most contemptible. His… ![“To my eye Rubens' colouring is most contemptible. His shadows are a filthy brown somewhat the colour of excrement.” quote by William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/william-blake-397_brown_to-my-eye-rubens-colouring-is-most-conte_734541.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/william-blake-397_brown_to-my-eye-rubens-colouring-is-most-conte_734541.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/william-blake-397_brown_to-my-eye-rubens-colouring-is-most-conte_734541.jpg) > “To my eye Rubens' colouring is most contemptible. His shadows are a filthy brown somewhat the colour of excrement.” [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Blake criticizes Rubens' use of dark, dirty tones, deeming them vulgar and morally repulsive. **In simple terms:** Rubens' dark colors are offensive to Blake. Key Takeaway Question artistic choices critically. Themes art criticism aesthetic standards moral judgment Mood critical analytical Type aesthetic philosophical When to use this quote - art education - gallery curation - creative workshops - personal art practice Key Concepts color theory historical context personal taste Questions to Reflect On - Do you judge art by personal morals? - How do you define “contemptible” in art? A Different Perspective Subjective taste varies; others may value Rubens' depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Colour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colour/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Rubens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rubens/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing can be more contemptible than to suppose Public Records to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/nothing-can-be-more-contemptible-than-to-suppose-public-records-to-be/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [“Rubens discovered a peculiar thing: memory does not make films, it makes photographs. What he recalled from any of the women were at most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/rubens-discovered-a-peculiar-thing-memory-does-not-make-films-it/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I read somewhere that Rubens said students should not draw from life, but draw from all the great classic casts. Then you really get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-read-somewhere-that-rubens-said-students-should-not-draw-from-life/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [I just want everyone to know I'm suing Ruben Studdard. He had his hand on my ass and he wouldn't let go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-just-want-everyone-to-know-i-m-suing-ruben-studdard-he-had-his-hand/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [“I’ve never known of a serious artist who was happy. Except maybe Rubens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-ve-never-known-of-a-serious-artist-who-was-happy-except-maybe-rubens/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“The garden was crossed by a path of red gravel, edged by a border of thick box, of many years' growth, and of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-garden-was-crossed-by-a-path-of-red-gravel-edged-by-a-border-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [On the left is the realist tradition of the 19th century, with its impulse to social description, radical criticism and meditation on things as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-courbet/on-the-left-is-the-realist-tradition-of-the-19th-century-with-its/) [Gustave Courbet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-courbet/) > [For - to say a few words on technique - whereas the curved line was used predominantly for reasons of beauty, (Phidias, Michelangelo, Raphael,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-van-doesburg/for-to-say-a-few-words-on-technique-whereas-the-curved-line-was-used/) [Theo van Doesburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-van-doesburg/) > [“It is foolish for Rubens to show her simpering. They were clearly guilty and did her much sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/it-is-foolish-for-rubens-to-show-her-simpering-they-were-clearly/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [Whether you think you like Rubens or not, his influence runs through the pathways of painting. Like Warhol, he changed the game of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-saville/whether-you-think-you-like-rubens-or-not-his-influence-runs-through/) [Jenny Saville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-saville/) > [But why I cry out against Rubens is because he painted undressed people instead of naked ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/but-why-i-cry-out-against-rubens-is-because-he-painted-undressed/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [“Doing nothing guarantees failure -Rubens”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/doing-nothing-guarantees-failure-rubens/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I were alive in Rubens's time, I'd be celebrated as a model. Kate Moss would be used as a paint brush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-french/if-i-were-alive-in-rubens-s-time-i-d-be-celebrated-as-a-model-kate/) [Dawn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-french/) > [A Gustave Courbet portrait of a trout has more death in it than Rubens could get in a whole Crucifixion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/a-gustave-courbet-portrait-of-a-trout-has-more-death-in-it-than/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [We know from Talmadge Hayer, one of the men who carried out the assassination, who was shot by Ruben X as he tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manning-marable/we-know-from-talmadge-hayer-one-of-the-men-who-carried-out-the/) [Manning Marable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manning-marable/) ## More by William Blake > [Poetry fettered, fetters the human race. Nations are destroyed or flourish in proportion as their poetry, painting, and music are destroyed or flourish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/poetry-fettered-fetters-the-human-race-nations-are-destroyed-or/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Where any view of money exists, art cannot be carried on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/where-any-view-of-money-exists-art-cannot-be-carried-on/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [God only acts and is, in existing beings or men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/god-only-acts-and-is-in-existing-beings-or-men/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Kill not the moth nor butterfly, For the Last Judgement draweth nigh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/kill-not-the-moth-nor-butterfly-for-the-last-judgement-draweth-nigh/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The world of imagination is the world of eternity. It is the divine bosom into which we shall all go after death of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-world-of-imagination-is-the-world-of-eternity-it-is-the-divine/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Imagination is the real and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/imagination-is-the-real-and-eternal-world-of-which-this-vegetable/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Painters are noted for being dissipated and wild.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/painters-are-noted-for-being-dissipated-and-wild/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Time is the mercy of Eternity; without Time's swiftness Which is the swiftest of all things, all were eternal torment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/time-is-the-mercy-of-eternity-without-time-s-swiftness-which-is-the/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The difference between a bad artist and a good one is: the bad artist seems to copy a great deal; the good one really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-difference-between-a-bad-artist-and-a-good-one-is-the-bad-artist/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Cruelty has a human heart, and jealousy a human face. 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I was angry with my foe; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-poison-tree-i-was-angry-with-my-friend-i-told-my-wrath-my-wrath/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The bird a nest the spider a web the human friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-bird-a-nest-the-spider-a-web-the-human-friendship/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) [Explore all 592 William Blake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) ## More Brown quotes > [It is no secret that I have read 'The Da Vinci Code' several times. I genuinely believe that 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/it-is-no-secret-that-i-have-read-the-da-vinci-code-several-times-i/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [I love Derrick Brown for the surprise of one word waking up next to another. 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