In the beginning you must subject yourself to the influence of nature. You must be able to walk firmly on the ground before you start walking of a tightrope.

Quote by Henri Matisse

Topics: Henri Matisse Quotes

Exactitude is not truth.

Exactitude is not truth.

The best way to kill time is to work it to death

The best way to kill time is to work it to death

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

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

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,...

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

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

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...

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...

Creativity takes courage.

Creativity takes courage.

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...

An artist must never be a prisoner. Prisoner? An artist should never be a prisoner...

An artist must never be a prisoner. Prisoner? An artist should never be a prisoner...

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...

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

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

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...

I wouldn't mind turning into a vermilion goldfish.

I wouldn't mind turning into a vermilion goldfish.

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

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

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?

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

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

This world is but a canvas to our imagination.

This world is but a canvas to our imagination.

I passionately hate the idea of being with it; I think an artist has always...

I passionately hate the idea of being with it; I think an artist has always...