Quote #20
A work of art must carry within itself its complete significance and impose that upon the beholder before he recognises the subject matter.
More from Henri Matisse
- There is an impelling proportion of tones that may lead me to change the shape of a figure or to transform my composition. Until I have ach…
- What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity, devoid of troubling or disturbing subject matter, an art which could be for e…
- For me all is in the conception. I must therefore have a clear vision of the whole from the beginning.
- Drawing with scissors: To cut to the quick in color reminds me of the direct cutting of sculptors.
- There must result a living harmony of colours, a harmony analogous to that of a musical composition.
- The vertical is in my spirit. It helps me to define precisely the direction of lines, and in quick sketches I never indicate a curve, that …
- Suppose I want to paint a woman's body: first of all I imbue it with grace and charm, but I know that I must give something more. I will co…
- A musician once said: In art, truth and reality begin when one no longer understands what one is doing or what one knows, and when there re…