During all these years there existed within me a tendency to follow Nature in her walks.

Great men show politeness in a particular way; a smile suffices to assure you that you are welcome, and keep about their avocations as if you were a member of the family.

The worse my drawings were, the more beautiful did the originals appear.

In my deepest troubles, I frequently would wrench myself from the persons around me and retire to some secluded part of our noble forests.

The fact is I am growing old too fast, alas! I feel it, and yet work I will, and may God grant me life to see the last plate of my mammoth work finished.

Never give up listening to the sounds of birds.

To have been torn from the study would have been as death; my time was entirely occupied with art.