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front of Duccio [[strikethrough]] di Buoninsegno [[/strikethrough]] with that enormous Madonna and thousands of angels.  But it is an extraordinary experience to stand in front of a great painting [[strikethrough]] like a half an hour or more [[/strikethrough]] and really feel that you are experiencing the deepest and most profound feelings and skills that someone is capable of.

To put that down is absurd and what it's about (subject) is really minimal compared to what the results are.  I think my favorite example of an impossible painting is Courbet's Lé Atelier. It's the most sentimental, smurchy kind of painting.  There he is, holding his easel like no artist as far as I know, has ever held an easel, surrounded by his models, all his ex-models, friends, viewers, whatever.  It's an impossible painting, but it's so passionate.  It's so full of intensity that of course you react to it.

It's a wonderful painting but it was described in terms of what it consists of, in terms of subject matter, you'd [[strikethrough]] go [[/strikethrough]] say, 'Oh, how embarassing to be that romantic about your work.' [[strikethrough]] You know, [[/strikethrough]] Can you imagine plumbers saying, 'I just love pipes.'  Well, I assume that somewhere there is a plumber who really loves to plumb and that's wonderful and you feel lucky if you could have a plumber like that who didn't screw up your house.  Anyone who does something really intensively and well, whether a mechanic or an artist, is really operating under the same kind of conditions.

He loves what he is doing.  What you're doing is really secondary to how you're doing it.  If you don't do it well it doesn't matter what the subject is, who cares?  You wouldn't want to look at it - you wouldn't want to experience it.  I mean, if you look at a wonderful movie and you can barely get up out of the seat to leave the movie theater that's a great work of art, to you.  So, it's not any different.  You're mezmerized by something that somebody has done, that's the whole point.

BY: You're going to perceive the painting visually first, and your first reaction has to be visual, instead of intellectual.  I think to be concerned that much with subject matter, with the narrative, and not consider the visual conception, with more importance, is to fool yourself.