The best way to begin is to say: 'Balthus is a painter of whom nothing is known. And now let us have a look at the paintings'.

The best way to begin is to say: 'Balthus is a painter of whom nothing is known. And now let us have a look at the paintings'.

Painting is a source of endless pleasure, but also of great anguish.

If you speak of beauty, you are at once suspected of...kitsch.

I always feel the desire to look for the extraordinary in ordinary things; to suggest, not to impose, to leave always a slight touch of mystery in my paintings.

Painting is a language which cannot be replaced by another language. I don't know what to say about what I paint, really.

Painting is the passage from the chaos of the emotions to the order of the possible.