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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..

— Henri Matisse Notes d'un Peintre (Notes of a Painter) (1908)

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More quotes by Henri Matisse

You study, you learn, but you guard the original naiveté. It has to be within you, as desire for drink is within the drunkard or love is within the lover.

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

Matisse (1984)

Slowly I discovered the secret of my art. It consists of a meditation on nature, on the expression of a dream which is always inspired by reality.

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

I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have the light joyousness of springtime which never lets anyone suspect the labors it has cost me..

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Henri Matisse (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.