The recommendation to view a painting is to view it from a distance because then you the see what the painter intended you to see.. When you get closer the overall shapes disappear, but the details of stroke and technique are revealed. It means, it is best to sit for a while and watch the painting as light falls on it from different angles and directions. This allows you to understand the painting in its entirety and you also begin to understand the quality of the painter's work and what he actually expressed, and revealed of himself. Take this as an example of reflection on my blog about social media and the government's haggling with Zuckerberg about what seemed to be money matters. Well, of course money played a role but the real intention was far more hidden. Now of course everyone knows, it was about control, deception and coercion. Meaning, the big picture as presented and seen at first glance did not last long. Under a bit of scrutiny it was falling apart in no time, showing it to be a patchwork put together by people who did not even bother to hide their intentions for longer than utmost necessary to get the deal done for a quick sale on the market. It also means that I fell too for the first impression it made. Never mind! It has a good side since it showed me my errors and weaknesses and I am satisfied that my rashness of judgement was, though off the mark, not due to evil mindedness, but to hastiness and being naïve, never anticipating how evil artist and dealer were. Oh dear! How does the saying go? It takes evil to see evil? Glad to learn my mistakes because it takes no effort to make corrections. But glad too to be reminded, evil just has too many faces, you can't know them all. So sitting back and looking at a painting for a little while longer is the best to way to go to get the full picture.