Quotes from Henri Matisse

An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc." -Henri Matisse, artist (31 Dec 1869-1954)

Rodin once said that a combination of extraordinary circumstances was needed for a man to live to 70 and to pursue with passion what he loves.

Il y a toujours des fleurs pour ceux qui veulent les voir.

A work of art must carry in itself its complete significance and impose it upon the beholder even before he can identify the subject-matter.

Don't wait for inspiration. It comes while one is working.

I wouldn't mind turning into a vermilion goldfish.

Art should be something like a good armchair in which to rest from physical fatigue.

Art is an escape from reality.

Cutting straight into color reminds me of the direct carving of the sculptor.

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.

A picture must possess a real power to generate light and for a long time now I've been conscious of expressing myself through light or rather in light.

All my efforts go into creating an art that can be understood by everyone.

...The more a picture has to give, the greater it is.

A work should contain its total meaning within itself and should impress it on the spectator before he even knows the subject.

The importance of an artist is to be measured by the quantity of new signs which he has introduced to the language of art.

...I am driven on by an idea that I really only grasp as it grows with the picture.

A painting in an interior spreads joy around it by the colors, which calm us.

Creation is the artist's true function; where there is no creation there is no art.

The Barnes Foundation is the only sane place to see art in America.

Creativity takes courage.

Don't wait for inspiration. It comes while working.

Beauty comes from the balance between two and three dimensions, between abstraction and representation - I seek the equilibrium behind changing appearances.

Color exists in itself, possessing its own beauty.

To look at something as though we had never seen it before requires great courage.