Art is amoral; so is life. For me there are no obscene pictures or books; there are only poorly conceived and poorly executed ones.

Art's a staple. Like bread or wine or a warm coat in winter. Those who think it is a luxury have only a fragment of a mind. Man's spirit grows hungry for art in the same way his stomach growls for food.

Nature always resists the artist at the beginning.

The most perfect guide is nature. Continue without fail to draw something every day.

Morality is similar to religion - it is a somniferous drug which blinds people from seeing the squalor of their lives.

The one who has not seen Paris in the morning does not know how beautiful it is.

Who wants to do good in this world must deny oneself. A man does not live on this Earth to be happy or to be honest only - he has to do great things for humanity, achieve the generosity of the spirit and rise above the banality where most of the people are drowning and wasting their days.