Matisse in his Own Words

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.

It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.

I don't know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I'm some sort of Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer.

I would like to recapture that freshness of vision which is characteristic of extreme youth when all the world is new to it.

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

Creativity takes courage.

It is not enough to place colors, however beautiful, one beside the other; colors must also react on one another. Otherwise, you have cacophony.

Work cures everything.

Impressionism is the newspaper of the soul.