A picture is a thing which requires as much knavery, as much malice, and as much vice as the perpetration of a crime. Make it untrue and add an accent of truth.

No art is less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and the study of the great masters.

The fascinating thing, is not to show the source of light, but the effect of light.

Work a great deal at evening effects, lamplight, candlelight, etc. The intriguing thing is not to show the source of the light but the effect of the lighting.

Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do.

It is people's movement that consoles us. If the leaves of a tree did not move, how sad would be the tree - and so should we.

A picture is first of all a product of the artist's imagination, it must never be a copy.