France is the only nation in which astoundingly small numbers of civilized patrons reside.

The principle of realism means denial of the ideal.

Beauty, like truth, is relative to the time when one lives and to the individual who can grasp it.

Beauty lies in nature and reveals, once the artist has perceived it, its own expressive power.

I am not one who was born in the custody of wisdom; I am one who is fond of olden times and intense in quest of the sacred knowing of the ancients.

When I am no longer controversial, I will no longer be important

Painting is the representation of visible forms. The essence of realism is its negation of the ideal.