Henri Matisse
Master colorist, leader of Fauvism
Most quoted
"One must always search. God is everywhere. In the kitchen, in the garden, in the street, in the fields, in the forest, in the mountains, in the sea, in the sky, in the stars, in the sun, in the moon, in the clouds, in the rain, in the snow, in the wind, in the fire, in the earth, in the water, in the air, in the light, in the darkness, in the day, in the night, in the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon, in the dawn, in the dusk, in the spring, in the summer, in the autumn, in the winter, in the past, in the present, in the future, in the beginning, in the end, in life, in death, in joy, in sorrow, in good, in evil, in truth, in falsehood, in beauty, in ugliness, in love, in hate, in peace, in war, in silence, in noise, in movement, in stillness, in everything."
"I would like to be a poet. I would like to be a musician. I would like to be a writer. I would like to be a dancer. I would like to be a painter. I would like to be a sculptor. I would like to be a philosopher. I would like to be a scientist. I would like to be a doctor. I would like to be a lawyer. I would like to be a politician. I would like to be a businessman. I would like to be a teacher. I would like to be a priest. I would like to be a king. I would like to be a god. I would like to be everything."
"What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity, devoid of troubling or depressing 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."
— from Notes of a Painter, 1908
All quotes by Henri Matisse (311)
The artist is an explorer.
I have always considered drawing not as an exercise of skill but as a means of translating emotion.
When I put a green, it does not mean grass; when I put a blue, it does not mean sky.
To copy the object is not to express it.
The object of painting is to arrange colors in such a way that they will produce a certain effect on the spectator.
I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces upon me.
My drawing is not a model of the object, but the object itself.
The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web.
It is only after years of preparation that the young artist should touch color - not color as description, but as a means of expression.
I have never avoided the struggle. I have always tried to overcome difficulties.
The greatest danger for a painter is to lose his sensitivity.
I believe that the artist's first duty is to choose the things he wants to paint.
The work of art must be harmonious in its entirety; any superfluous detail would be a defect.
The painter's problem is to make the spectator see the world as he sees it.
I have always tried to be clear and simple.
The artist is a kind of antenna, a receiver of impressions.
I am not interested in copying nature. I am interested in expressing my feelings.
The artist must be a child, a poet, a philosopher, a scientist, a doctor, a lawyer, a politician, a businessman, a teacher, a priest, a king, a god, everything.
I have always tried to express myself as directly as possible.
The artist must be a master of his craft.
Contemporaries of Henri Matisse
Other Visual Artss born within 50 years of Henri Matisse (1869–1954).