I have been no more than a medium, as it were.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The artist acts as a conduit for the work rather than its creator.
- In plain terms
- I am just a medium for the art to pass through.
- What can you take from it?
- View yourself as a vessel for creation.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Who creates the art?
- How much ego is healthy?
Another view
This denies the artist's active role in shaping the work.
More from Henri Matisse
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…
Permalink to quote #11 The artist begins with a vision - a creative operation requiring effort. Creativity takes courage.
Permalink to quote #13 It is only after years of preparation that the young [artist] should touch color - not color used descriptively, that is, but as a means of personal expression.
Permalink to quote #10
Related quotes
Painting is not my art.
Michelangelo BuonarrotiMichelangelo Buonarroti quote #14 I feel as a horse must feel when the beautiful cup is given to the jockey.
Edgar DegasEdgar Degas quote #48 The best of our fiction is by novelists who allow that it is as good as they can give, and the worst by novelists who maintain that they could do much better i…
J. M. BarrieJ. M. Barrie quote #1