Matisse in his Own Words

Creativity takes courage.

Derive happiness in oneself from a good day’s work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.

Work cures everything.

Why have I never been bored? For more than fifty years I have never ceased to work.

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.

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….

Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence.

Exactitude is not truth.

The essential thing is to spring forth, to express the bolt of lightning one senses upon contact with a thing. The function of the artist is not to translate an observation but to express the shock of the object on his nature; the shock, with the original reaction.

An artist must never be a prisoner. Prisoner? An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc.

There are always flowers for those who want to see them.