Why has God given me such magnificent talent? It is a curse as well as a great blessing.

The artist is chosen by God to fulfill his commands and must never be overwhelmed by public opinion.

What beauty is, I know not, though it adheres to many things.

Some think that they know everybody, but they really don't know themselves.

And since geometry is the right foundation of all painting, I have decided to teach its rudiments and principles to all youngsters eager for art. . .

Nature holds the beautiful, for the artist who has the insight to extract it. Thus, beauty lies even in humble, perhaps ugly things, and the ideal, which bypasses or improves on nature, may not be truly beautiful in the end.

If a man devotes himself to art, much evil is avoided that happens otherwise if one is idle.