I was driven on by.. A force which I see today as something alien to my normal life... so I have been no more than a medium as it were.
Henri MatisseColor was not given to us in order that we should imitate Nature. It was given to us so that we can express our emotions.
Henri MatisseThe artists must see all things as if he were seeing them for the first time. All his life he must see as he did when he was a child.
Henri MatisseOne must, of course, have one's entire experience behind one and not have lost the freshness of instinct.
Henri MatisseThe arts have a development which comes not only from the individual but also from a whole acquired force, the civilization which precedes us. One cannot do just anything. A talented artist cannot do whatever he pleases. If he only used his gifts, he would not exist. We are not the masters of what we produce. It is imposed on us.
Henri Matisse