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Henri Matisse Quotes
1869–1954 France
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French artist. Particularly known for his striking use of colour, Matisse is one of the very few indisputable giants of modern art, alongside Pablo Picasso and Wassily Kandinsky.
Also known as: Matisse, Matisse, Henri
Random Henri Matisse quote
29 quotes
What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity, devoid of troubling or disturbing subject matter, an art which could be for every mental worker, for the businessman as well as the man of letters, for example, a soothing, calming influence on the mind, something like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.
Notes of a Painter (1908)
[I wouldn't mind turning into] a vermilion goldfish.
There are flowers everywhere for those who want to see them
Jazz (1947)
Underlying this succession of moments which constitutes the superficial existence of beings and things, and which is continually modifying and transforming them, one can search for a truer, more essential character, which the artist will seize so that he may give to reality a more lasting interpretation.
Notes of a Painter (1908)
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. When I see the Giotto frescoes at Padua I do not trouble to recognize which scene of the life of Christ I have before me, but I perceive instantly the sentiment which radiates from it and which is instinct in the composition in every line and color.
Notes d'un Peintre (Notes of a Painter) (1908)
The vertical is in my spirit. It helps me to define precisely the direction of lines, and in quick sketches I never indicate a curve, that of a branch in landscape for example, without being aware of its relationship to the vertical.
Jazz (1947)
At each stage I reach a balance, a conclusion. At the next sitting, if I find that there is a weakness in the whole, I make my way back into the picture by means of the weakness — I re-enter through the breach — and I reconceive the whole. Thus everything becomes fluid again.
I want to reach the state of condensation of sensations which constitutes a picture. Perhaps I might be satisfied momentarily with a work finished at one sitting, but I would soon get bored looking at it; therefore, I prefer to continue working on it so that later I may recognize it as a work of my mind..
Notes d'un Peintre (Notes of a Painter) (1908)
Suppose I want to paint a woman's body: first of all I imbue it with grace and charm, but I know that I must give something more. I will condense the meaning of this body by seeking its essential lines. The charm will be less apparent at first glance, but it must eventually emerge from the new image which will have a broader meaning, one more fully human.
Notes of a Painter (1908)
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