Henri Matisse was a renowned painter famous for his fauvist style. He is believed to be one of the revolutionary artists who contributed significantly in developing visual arts during the starting years of the 20th century. His first public appearance as a painter was at the ‘Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts’ where he exhibited five paintings. He widely traveled to nurture his art and got influenced by the ‘pointillist’ style of Georges Seurat and Paul Signac. He started exhibiting at famous galleries which led to his creative breakthrough period. During this period he made some major paintings and became one of the leading painters of the Fauves (a group of modern realistic painters of the 20th century). He further collaborated with his life-long friend and legendary artist Pablo Picasso to contribute significantly to the Gertrude Stein’s collection. Some of his notable works were ‘Luxe, Calme et Volupté’ and ‘La Danse’ which were well appreciated by the masses. He was honored with the ‘French Legion of Honor’ which is the most reputed award of France. We bring to you a collection of thoughts and quotations by Henri Matisse which have been curated from his life and work. Go through the quotes and sayings by Henri Matisse that will leave a lasting impression on you.
There are always flowers for those who want to see them.
Henri Matisse
You must forget all your theories, all your ideas before the subject. What part of these is really your own will be expressed in your expression of the emotion awakened in you by the subject.
We ought to view ourselves with the same curiosity and openness with which we study a tree, the sky or a thought, because we too are linked to the entire universe.
Henri Matisse
To look at something as though we had never seen it before requires great courage.
You study, you learn, but you guard the original naïveté. It has to be within you, as desire for drink is within the drunkard or love is within the lover.
I don't know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I'm some kind of a Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer.
From the moment I held the box of colors in my hands, I knew this was my life. I threw myself into it like a beast that plunges towards the thing it loves.
Don’t wait for inspiration. It comes while one is working.
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.
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
