Anybody can look at a pretty girl and see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see the old woman she will become. A better artist can look at an old woman and see the pretty girl that she used to be. But a great artist--a master--and that is what Auguste Rodin was--can look at an old woman, portray her exactly as she is . . and force the viewer to see the pretty girl she used to be . and more than that, he can make anyone with the sensitivity of an armadillo, or even you, see that this lovely young girl is still alive, not old and ugly at all, but simply prisoned inside her ruined body. Robert A. Heinlein
About This Quote

It is not easy to capture the essence of a person with just one piece of art. It takes time and attention to capture the blossom and beauty of a woman who was once young and beautiful. It takes a master sculptor’s skill and talent to reconstruct the frailty and fragility of an old woman. Auguste Rodin was known as the greatest sculptor in Paris.

He was very talented, but he was also very sensitive, so he could see the beauty in women who others could not. When he looked at an old woman, he was able to see the pretty girl she used to be and he could depict her exactly as she is. He could make anyone with the sensitivity of an armadillo, or even you, see that this lovely young girl is still alive, not old and ugly at all, but simply prisoned inside her ruined body.

Source: Stranger In A Strange Land

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More Quotes By Robert A. Heinlein
  1. Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.

  2. Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy - in fact, they are almost incompatible; one emotion hardly leaves room for the other.

  3. May you live as long as you wish and love as long as you live.

  4. Anybody can look at a pretty girl and see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see the old woman she will become. A better artist can look at an old woman and see the pretty girl that she used...

  5. Some people insist that 'mediocre' is better than 'best.' They delight in clipping wings because they themselves can't fly. They despise brains because they have none.

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