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Xavier de Maistre
A prominent 19th-century German philosopher whom Alain de Botton frequently quotes throughout his book. He argued that travel can be valuable because it allows people to learn information that they can use to enrich their own lives, rejected the notion that painters can ever merely reproduce the world exactly as it is, and appreciated Xavier de Maistre’s ability to “make much of little.”
Friedrich Nietzsche Quotes in The Art of Travel
The The Art of Travel quotes below are all either spoken by Friedrich Nietzsche or refer to Friedrich Nietzsche. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4 Quotes
The guidebook might have added, “and where there must be something wrong with the traveller who cannot agree.”
111
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De Botton mocks his moralistic guidebook to Madrid, which insists on telling him which attractions to visit and which may not be worth his energy. The book imposes specific, rigid expectations on the traveler, which de Botton feels prevents him from truly engaging with the city or pursuing his own curiosity about various buildings and cultural norms he encounters there. It offers a slew of facts and measurements about various tourist attractions, but de Botton cannot see why these matter, for they have already been discovered (unlike the facts Alexander von Humboldt sought out on his trip to South America) Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint a
Chapter 7 Quotes
‘Completely true to nature!’—what a lie:
How could nature ever be constrained into a picture?
The smallest bit of nature is infinite!
And so he paints what he likes about it.
And what does he like? He likes what he can paint!
Nietzsche 188
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German philosopher Friedrich Nietzche’s reflections on artistic realism justify de Botton’s defense of Vincent van Gogh against critics who thought the Dutch painter misrepresented the reality of Provence. Van Gogh focused on color and contrast, which he thought captured the true psychological impact of being in Provence and therefore the essence of the region’s visual character. But classical ideologies of representation focused on line and form, which van Gogh was willing to sacrifice. Nietzsche argued that there were various “real” views of any particular object, and that therefore the classical version could not have been considered any “truer” to the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam
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Friedrich Nietzsche Character Timeline in The Art of Travel
The timeline below shows where the character Friedrich Nietzsche appears in The Art of Travel. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4: On Curiosity
...he finds irrelevant. His learning only matters if it is “life-enhancing.” But German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche actually found this kind of learning more important than “sterile” factual quests for science. Nietzsche...
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For instance, Nietzsche thought that a traveler could go to Italy and realize that “the Italian Renaissance had...
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Chapter 7: On Eye-Opening Art
...features to highlight and disregard, for no painting can capture the entirety of reality, as Nietzsche knew all too well: “‘Completely true to nature’—what a lie: / How could nature ever...
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De Botton sees this as a justifiable artistic choice, however, for—as Nietzsche said in the earlier quote from this chapter—art can never capture the entirety of reality....
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Chapter 9: On Habit
After reading de Maistre, Nietzsche remarked that “some people know how to manage their experiences” and learn to “become an...
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