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.

Quote by Henri Matisse

Topics: Henri Matisse Quotes

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

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

I would like to recapture that freshness of vision which is characteristic of extreme youth...

I would like to recapture that freshness of vision which is characteristic of extreme youth...

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

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

A picture must possess a real power to generate light [and] for a long time...

A picture must possess a real power to generate light [and] for a long time...

I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have a...

I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have a...

Aren't you [Tahiti Lagoons] one of the seven wonders of the Paradise of painters?

Aren't you [Tahiti Lagoons] one of the seven wonders of the Paradise of painters?

Impressionism is the newspaper of the soul.

Impressionism is the newspaper of the soul.

Time extracts various values from a painter's work. When these values are exhausted the pictures...

Time extracts various values from a painter's work. When these values are exhausted the pictures...

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

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

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

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

Creativity takes courage.

Creativity takes courage.

You study, you learn, but you guard the original naivete. It has to be within...

You study, you learn, but you guard the original naivete. It has to be within...

In the beginning you must subject yourself to the influence of nature. You must be...

In the beginning you must subject yourself to the influence of nature. You must be...

Instinct must be thwarted just as one prunes the branches of a tree so that...

Instinct must be thwarted just as one prunes the branches of a tree so that...

It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.

It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.

I did my sculpture as a painter. I did not work as a sculptor.

I did my sculpture as a painter. I did not work as a sculptor.

Truly, I'm not joking when I thank my lucky stars for the awful operation I...

Truly, I'm not joking when I thank my lucky stars for the awful operation I...

Youth is full of sport, age's breath is short; youth is nimble, age is lame;...

Youth is full of sport, age's breath is short; youth is nimble, age is lame;...

A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his age.

A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his age.

It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost...

It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost...