The Manipulated Image


When I look at a genre-picture, it ‘tells’ me something, even though I don’t believe (imagine) for a moment [what] I see in it really exist, or that there have really been people in that situation. But suppose I ask: ‘What does it tell me, then?’
— Philosophical Investigations, #522

The flower above did not exist in the state it appears in the photograph. Like many photos, it has been altered. Can I still not find beauty in it?