Top 33 Quotes by Henri Matisse

Cutting into color reminds me of the sculptor's direct carving.

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.

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.

I don't know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I'm some sort of Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer.

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.

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

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

In love, the one who runs away is the winner.

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