Quotes by Henri Matisse

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

From the moment I held the box of colors in my hands, I knew this was my life. I threw myself into it like a beast that plunges towards the thing it loves.

I do not distinguish between the construction of a book and that of a painting and I always proceed from the simple to the complex. - 1946

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

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.

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

Derive happiness in oneself from a good days work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.

There are always flowers for those who want to see them.

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.

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.

Exactitude is not truth.

Creativity takes courage.

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.

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

Impressionism is the newspaper of the soul.

I dont paint things. I only paint the difference between things.

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

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

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.