Édouard Manet

There are no lines in nature, only areas of color, one against another.

I paint what I see, not what others choose to see.

The principal person in a picture is the light.

One must be of one's time and paint what one sees.

I never paint directly from nature. I paint from memory, from imagination, or from sketches.

I am not a revolutionary. I am simply a painter who wants to paint what he sees.

The artist is born to paint, not to be a critic.

The public is always wrong.

When you have a subject, you must paint it as you see it, without worrying about what others will say.

There is only one true thing: to paint what one sees.

I have never made a concession to the public.

The most important thing is to be sincere.

I do not understand why people are so shocked by my paintings. I simply paint what I see.

The artist must be a man of his time.

I have always tried to be myself.

One must simplify, simplify, simplify.

The great thing is to be able to express oneself.

I have no system, no method. I just paint.

The true artist is one who paints what he sees, not what he has been taught to see.

I am not an Impressionist. I am a painter.