Final answer:
The search for the source of the concept that 'vision is to touch with the gaze' may be rooted in phenomenology but no exact source is provided. Philosophers like Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, and artists like Cézanne, as well as gaze theory in film, all explore similar themes related to the sensory experience and perception.
Step-by-step explanation:
The concept that 'vision is to touch with the gaze' aligns with philosophical explorations of perception, particularly within the existential and phenomenological frameworks of thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. While the exact source of the quote might be elusive, the idea reflects phenomenological preoccupations with the subjective experience of seeing and the perceived interplay between vision and touch.
Norman Bryson's Vision and Painting: The Logic of the Gaze and discussions around gaze theory in visual culture studies address related concepts. Early philosophers like Euclid, Ptolemy, and Ibn al-Haytham also contributed to understanding vision, although through more scientific lens. Cézanne's work in visual art reflects a nuanced understanding of vision, emphasizing the complexity of human sight as interacting with both time and space, which could be seen as touching upon the conceptual proximity between visual and tactile experiences.