“Don’t wait for inspiration. It comes while working.”
— Henri Matisse
“You must forget all your theories, all your ideas before the subject. What part of these is really your own will be expressed in your expression of the emotion awakened in you by the subject.”
— Henri Matisse
“Creativity takes courage.”
— Henri Matisse
“I don’t know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I’m some kind of a Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer.”
— Henri Matisse
“Exactitude is not truth.”
– Henri Matisse
“An artist must never be a prisoner. Prisoner? An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc.”
– Henri Matisse
“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.”
– Henri Matisse
“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 on a tightrope.”
– Henri Matisse
“An artist must possess Nature. He must identify himself with her rhythm, by efforts that will prepare the mastery which will later enable him to express himself in his own language.”
– Henri Matisse
“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”
– Henri Matisse
“He who loves, flies, runs, and rejoices he is free and nothing holds him back.”
– Henri Matisse
“Derive happiness in oneself from a good day’s work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.”
– Henri Matisse
“It is only after years of preparation that the young artist should touch color – not color used descriptively, that is, but as a means of personal expression.”
– Henri Matisse
“Creativity takes courage.”
– Henri Matisse
“What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter – a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.”
– Henri Matisse
“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.”
– Henri Matisse
“Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence.”
– Henri Matisse
“I don’t paint things. I only paint the difference between things.”
– Henri Matisse