There is nothing new under the sun, not even Manet.

I had not yet acquired the experience which gives modesty.

The wretched beings depicted by Millet touch us profoundly because he loved them profoundly. They have nothing in common with vulgar ugliness. Beauty will always remain the highest aim of art.

The artist should not be satisfied to only play the part of a mirror.

There is nothing new under the sun, not even Manet.

The true is not material reality only.

I have always had a passion for the beautiful. If the man in me is often a pessimist, the artist, on the contrary, is pre-eminently an optimist.