"In this book, British writer John Berger uses the paintings of Swiss artist Christoph Hänsli to tell a story that begins in a small, third-rate Paris hotel room: "It was called the Hôtel du Printemps and was located in the 14th arrondissement. The entrance with the reception desk was no wider than a corridor. Room number 19 was on the third floor. A steep staircase with no lift. Sven and I slowly climbed up to his room. He had arrived in Paris the day before and we had been friends for forty years. Room 19 was small, the window overlooked a deep, narrow courtyard. The light is better in the toilet, Sven said. There was a cupboard next to the window, and the toilet niche on the other side of the bed, which took up most of the floor space, was as big as the cupboard. On the fluffy, light pink bedspread lay a large folder, held together by ribbons, two of which were torn. The walls featured a yellowish wallpaper that was at once dreary and friendly - like a doublet that the room slept in and never took off." In the concentrated atmosphere of a meeting between two artist friends, a conversation develops about viewing and feeling pictures, in the course of which Berger's meditations condense into a small theory of painting."