I have never seen either angels or goddesses, so I am not interested in painting them.

The expression of beauty is in direct ratio to the power of conception the artist has acquired.

I am fifty years old and I have always lived in freedom; let me end my life free; when I am dead let this be said of me: 'He belonged to no school, to no church, to no institution, to no academy, least of all to any regime except the regime of liberty.'

The principle of realism means denial of the ideal.

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

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

I have never seen an angel. Show me an angel, and I'll paint one.