I really wish that I was fluent in more than one language, German in this case. There are at least two translations of this poem of Nietzsche’s in English that I have found, and I doubt that either do justice to the original German. In the version above, the editors themselves acknowledge the translation to be an "embarrassing problem," probably not in the least bit due to the sheer brilliance of what Nietzsche wrote.

To be so insightful must have been painful for Nietzsche. This innocent little piece of verse, a favorite of mine, flies over the heads even of scholars such as Matthew Rampley, author of Nietzsche, Aesthetics and Modernity, who suggests that Nietzsche is, at least in some regard, discussing art (201). I highly doubt that Nietzsche is doing anything of the sort; he is, rather, eloquently stating his view of many philosophers before him. This point applies so well, not merely to renowned pre-nineteenth century philosophers, but many others. As one who delights more in explained magic tricks and unweaved rainbows, I want to give a brief idea of what exactly Nietzsche was talking about by deconstructing this verse.

So he begins, the painter attempts to encompass all of nature within the confines of his canvas. How obvious it is that the author is not referring to those doing art, but philosophy! The philosopher begins a massive work, a Summa Theologica, a Critique of Pure Reason, a Phenomenology of Spirit, attempting to bring the totality of the world within a single doctrine that offers a complete metaphysical explanation of how the world works. How though, could any individual possibly expect to accomplish this task? Even the smallest parts of nature are utterly complex to the human mind, here represented by the canvas and tools of the painter. No painter can fit all of what is before them onto a canvas; the painter is constrained by the canvas and the paint. Likewise, no thinking being can grasp the complexities of the universe entirely; we cannot expect to construct a complete and accurate picture of the world. Philosophers are constrained by the brushes of thought, and the canvas of biology. What then, are minds such as Aquinas, Kant, and Hegel doing? Why, painting what they want to paint, showing the world as they want it to be; the brightest colors and most eloquent techniques, the most clever logic and convincing arguments that can be mustered. As such, and as explained early on in Beyond Good and Evil, such philosophers are revealing little cosmic truth, and much of their own unconscious psychology. Such philosophers paint what they can, that is, using the acceptable tools of logic and reason, get at what they, beneath it all, want to be true. Did Nietzsche then consider himself beyond such nonsense? Perhaps to some degree, but he shows some humbleness in another poem in The Gay Science, which I leave to the reader to interpret for themselves. For myself, as a philosopher and scientist, it is my attempt to paint what I see, with as much accuracy and complexity as I have power, and remain open to eyes at just the right distance.

Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Gay Science. Trans. Thomas Common, Paul V. Cohn, and Maude D. Petre. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 2006.

Rampley, Matthew. Nietzsche, Aesthetics and Modernity. Cambridge UP, 1999.