Search quotes by author:    A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 


Henri Matisse Quotes


A picture must possess a real power to generate light and for a long time now I've been conscious of expressing myself through light or rather in light.

A young woman has young claws, well sharpened. If she has character, that is. And if she hasn't so much the worse for you.

An artist must never be a prisoner. Prisoner? An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc.

An artist must possess Nature. He must identify himself with her rhythm, by efforts that will prepare the mastery which will later enable him to express himself in his own language.

Creativity takes courage.

Cutting into color reminds me of the sculptor's direct carving.

Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.

Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence.

Exactitude is not truth.

He who loves, flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free and nothing holds him back.

I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces upon me.

I don't know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I'm some sort of Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer.

I don't paint things. I only paint the difference between things.

I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have a light joyousness of springtime which never lets anyone suspect the labors it has cost me.

I have been no more than a medium, as it were.

I would like to recapture that freshness of vision which is characteristic of extreme youth when all the world is new to it.

I wouldn't mind turning into a vermilion goldfish.

I'm growing old, I delight in the past.

Impressionism is the newspaper of the soul.

In love, the one who runs away is the winner.