Quotes from Henri Matisse

Ever since there have been men, man has given himself over to too little joy. That alone, my brothers, is our original sin. I should believe only in a God who understood how to dance.

I want to reach that condensation of sensations that constitutes a picture.

The essential thing is to work in a state of mind that approaches prayer.

Time extracts various values from a painter's work. When these values are exhausted the pictures are forgotten, and the more a picture has to give, the greater it is.

Work cures everything.

All that is not useful in a picture is detrimental. A work of art must be harmonious in its entirety; for superfluous details would, in the mind of the beholder, encroach upon the essential elements.

After a half-century of hard work and reflection the wall is still there.

I counted solely on the clarity of expression of my work to gain my ends.

What matters most to me? To work with my model until I have it enough in me to be able to improvise, to let my hand run free.

There are wonderful things in real jazz, the talent for improvisation, the liveliness, the being at one with the audience.

Jazz is rhythm and meaning.

With color one obtains an energy that seems to stem from witchcraft.

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

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.

The sign for which I forge an image has no value if it doesn't harmonize with other signs, which I must determine in the course of my invention and which are completely peculiar to it.

All that is not useful in a picture is detrimental. A work of art must be harmonious in its entirety; for superfluous details would, in the mind of the beholder, encroach upon the essential elements.

What I dream of is an art of balance.

The only valid thing in art is the one thing that cannot be explained, to explain away the mystery of a great painting would do irreplaceable harm, for whenever you explain or define something you substitute the explanation or the definition for the

There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted.

When I saw what a mess everything was in I asked for my money back on the ticket. I would have felt I was deserting. If everyone of any value leaves France, what will remain of France?

There are flowers everywhere, for those who bother to look.

Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent, and independent with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play.

Precision is not reality.

I want to reach that state of condensation of sensations which constitutes a picture.