Henri Matisse Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Henri Matisse quotes, Henri Matisse sayings, and Henri Matisse proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence. Henri Matisse
There are always flowers for those who want to see them. Henri Matisse
If drawing belongs to the world of spirit and color to that of the senses, you must draw first to cultivate the spirit. Henri Matisse
Drawing is putting a line around an idea. Henri Matisse
Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence. Henri Matisse
Purer colors have in themselves, independently of the objects they serve to express, a significant action on the feelings of those who look at them. Henri Matisse
Color helps to express light, not the physical phenomenon, but the only light that really exists, that in the artist's brain. Henri Matisse
Precision is not reality. Henri Matisse
Instinct must be thwarted just as one prunes the branches of a tree so that it will grow better. Henri Matisse
The portrait is one of the most curious art forms. It demands special qualities in the artist, and an almost total kinship with the model. Henri Matisse
Remember, a line cannot exist alone; it always brings a companion along. Do remember that one line does nothing; it is only in relation to another that it creates a volume. Henri Matisse
When I eat a tomato I look at it the way anyone else would. But when I paint a tomato, then I see it differently.  Henri Matisse
I did my sculpture as a painter. I did not work as a sculptor. Henri Matisse
Creative people are curious, flexible, and independent with a tremendous spirit and a love of play. Henri Matisse
There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted. Henri Matisse
A young painter who cannot liberate himself from the influence of past generations is digging his own grave. Henri Matisse
What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter – a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue. Henri Matisse
It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else. Henri Matisse
I don't paint things. I only paint the difference between things. Henri Matisse
There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted. Henri Matisse
In love, the one who runs away is the winner. Henri Matisse
Time extracts various values from a painter's work. When these values are exhausted the pictures are forgotten, and the more a picture has to give, the greater it is. Henri Matisse