Art Quotes

“Let us hope that these dark days [Summer in 1943 when Morandi took refuge from the war in Grizanna where he remained on his own for a year] will be followed by better ones. I work, but these continual worries are extremely tiring, believe me. I should like to see you again..”

“As regards my paintings of similar compositions I cannot give you any indication [about possible 'variants' in his works] because I'm afraid I've never made a note of where my paintings have ended up.. .I am always at work and work is my sole passion. And unfortunately I've become aware that I must always start from the beginning, and ought to burn what I've done in the past.”

“I also believe there is nothing more surreal and nothing more abstract than reality.”

“The feelings and images aroused by the visible world are very difficult to express or are perhaps inexpressible with words because they are determined by forms, colors, space and light.”

“Art is a line around your thoughts.”

“All art is erotic.”

“Whoever wants to know something about me ought to look carefully at my pictures.”

“Painting is an essentially concrete art and can only consist of the representation of real and existing things.”

“Show me an angel and I'll paint one.”

“Beauty, like truth, is relative to the time when one lives and to the individual who can grasp it.”

“The expression of beauty is in direct ratio to the power of perception the artist has acquired.”

“Creativity takes courage.”

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”

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

“What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity.”

“Drawing is putting a line round an idea.”

“Exactitude is not truth.”

“I see with horror that the 'Salon Automne' is looming, for I haven't got, and shan't have, all I meant to be able to show there, the big stillife ['Harmony in Red'] has taken up so much of my time; but since I am content with the outcome, I tell myself one can't hope to be fast as well as good.”

“Rules have no existence outside of individuals: otherwise a good professor would be as great a genius as Racine.<!--as quoted in 'Matisse on Art' 1978 -->”

“Underlying this succession of moments which constitutes the superficial existence of beings and things, and which is continually modifying and transforming them, one can search for a truer, more essential character, which the artist will seize so that he may give to reality a more lasting interpretation.<!--as quoted in 'Matisse on Art' 1978 -->”

“For me all is in the conception. I must therefore have a clear vision of the whole from the beginning.<!--as quoted in 'Matisse on Art' 1978 -->”

“I simply try to put down colours which render my sensation.<!--as quoted in 'Matisse on Art' 1978 -->”

“What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity, devoid of troubling or disturbing subject matter, an art which could be for every mental worker, for the businessman as well as the man of letters, for example, a soothing, calming influence on the mind, something like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.<!--as quoted in 'Matisse on Art' 1978. -->”

“The simplest means are those which best enable an artist to express himself. His means of expression must derive almost all of necessity from his temperament.<!-- as quoted in 'Matisse on Art' 1978-->”

“Suppose I want to paint a woman's body: first of all I imbue it with grace and charm, but I know that I must give something more. I will condense the meaning of this body by seeking its essential lines. The charm will be less apparent at first glance, but it must eventually emerge from the new image which will have a broader meaning, one more fully human.<!--as quoted in "Matisse on Art' 1978-->”

“Expression, to my way of thinking, does not consist of the passion mirrored upon a human face or betrayed by a violent gesture. The whole arrangement of my picture is expressive. The place occupied by figures or objects, the empty spaces around them, the proportions – everything plays a part. Composition is the art of arranging in a decorative manner the various elements at the painter’s disposal for the expression of his feelings”

“In a picture every part will be visible and will play the role conferred upon it, be it principal or secondary. All that is not useful in the picture is detrimental.”

“Composition, the aim of which is expression, alters itself according to the surface to be covered. If I take a sheet of paper of given dimensions I will jot down a drawing which will have a necessary relation to its format – I would not repeat this drawing on another sheet of different dimensions, for instance on a rectangular sheet.. ..a drawing must have a power of expansion which can bring to life the space which surrounds it.”

“I want to reach the state of condensation of sensations which constitutes a picture. Perhaps I might be satisfied momentarily with a work finished at one sitting, but I would soon get bored looking at it; therefore, I prefer to continue working on it so that later I may recognize it as a work of my mind..”

“I am forced to transpose until finally my picture may seem completely changed when, after successive modifications, the red has succeeded the green as the dominant color. I cannot copy nature in a servile way, I must interpret nature and submit it to the spirit of the picture – when I have found the relationship of all the tones the result must be a living harmony of tones, a harmony not unlike that of a musical composition”