A Review on The Shape of Time- George Kubler

One of the most important questions, in regards to genius, is whether nature or nature is the cause of someones talents. Kubler begins to compare two of the most influential artists, da Vinci and Raphael. He debates whether or not nature or nurture were the true causes for talent. Kubler believes that one cannot compare the two because they both have talent, and lived at different time periods. It's next to impossible to seriously compare the two since they are so different and exist on different points of the "Invisible Chain."

The ideas of those that came before heavily can shape the ideas of those to come. Kubler talks about an "Invisible Chain," of which it is a measure of time. Each artist is somewhere on this chain, their ideas come from those before and their current ideas shape those of artists to come. However, the artist is not aware of this chain, therefore, is only effected by the events that happened prior. Kubler believes this is because the time period an artist lives in strongly influences their life.

Kubler goes on to talk about the types of personalities which correspond well with art. Art has become a very social thing. Each unique personality can have a very different take on the same thing, thus why art is so important. Through art we can see what someone else sees or imagines.