4 Quotes by Nina Siegal

A portrait can freeze time, prevent aging, remove wrinkles and imperfections, and even dispense with death altogether if the sitter manages to live on in paint.

Hij was een mens, en hij was vlees en botten en geest en ziel. Zij had van hem gehouden. De Ritselaer had hem gekocht, dokter Tulp had hem gevorderd voor de wetenschap en ik had hem willen hebben voor de kunst. Allemaal wilden we zijn vlees. Allemaal wilden we iets met het lichaam van deze man. Maar hij behoorde toe aan geen van ons. Hij was alleen maar Aris, de dief.

He will go on painting until he gets it all right. Until there are layers and layers of pigment that will never be diminished. Not by his death, not by his time, not by any time. Cologne earth, Kassel earth, lead white, umber, red lake, vermilion, yellow ocher, red ocher, bone black.

There is nothing dirty about the anatomy. I love the anatomy; it is my birthright, my legacy, my very parentage. I love its ceremony and its pomp; I love the doctor's feigned authority and the spectators' awe and civility. But amid all the bloodletting, cutting, lecturing, banqueting, torch-lighting, and debauchery, the scientists - ... - are doing something important. Like the Egyptians before them, they are building the foundations of a civilization.