Michelangelo

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.

Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.

The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.

Genius is eternal patience.

If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all.

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

I am still learning.

Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.

Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle.

The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.

Drawing is the true test of art.

Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.

It is necessary that the first stroke be made in fear and trembling.

The best artist has no conceit.

Good painting is the kind that looks like it might not be so good.

I hope that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.

Many have argued that without me, Rome would have been deprived of some of its best frescoes.

The work of art must seize upon you, wrap you up in itself, carry you away.

Even if I had the space, I would not paint anymore.

I live in sin, and I die in sin, because I have not been able to detach myself from the things of the world.