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.

Quote by Henri Matisse

Topics: Henri Matisse Quotes

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

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

All that I really have to recount are observations and notes made during the course...

All that I really have to recount are observations and notes made during the course...

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?

There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose,...

There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose,...

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.

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

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

Better late than never is poor consolation for the man who has lost the opportunity...

Better late than never is poor consolation for the man who has lost the opportunity...

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...

Jazz is rhythm and meaning.

Jazz is rhythm and meaning.

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...

Those who work in a preconceived style, deliberately turning their backs on nature, miss the...

Those who work in a preconceived style, deliberately turning their backs on nature, miss the...

It is only after years of preparation that the young artist should touch color -...

It is only after years of preparation that the young artist should touch color -...

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

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

Exactitude is not truth.

Exactitude is not truth.

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 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.

Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do.

Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do.

A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he...

A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he...

All my life as an artist I have asked myself: What pushes me continually to...

All my life as an artist I have asked myself: What pushes me continually to...