A painting which does not take its inspiration from the heart is nothing more than futile juggling.

You call me a misanthrope because I avoid society. You err; I love society. Yet in order not to hate people, I must avoid their company.

The pure, frank sentiments we hold in our hearts are the only truthful sources of art.

The artist should paint not only what he sees before him, but also what he sees within him. If, however, he sees nothing within him, then he should also refrain from painting that which he sees before him. Otherwise, his pictures will be like those folding screens behind which one expects to find only the sick or the dead.

I must stay alone and know that I am alone to contemplate and feel nature in full.

I am not so weak as to submit to the demands of the age when they go against my convictions. I spin a cocoon around myself; let others do the same. I shall leave it to time to show what will come of it: a brilliant butterfly or maggot.

God is everywhere, in the smallest grain of sand.