We must always take from nature what we paint and always choose the most beautiful things.

It is very rarely granted even to Nature herself to produce anything absolutely perfect in every part.

When I investigate and when I discover that the forces of the heavens and the planets are within ourselves, then truly I seem to be living among the gods.

No art, however minor, demands less than total dedication if you want to excel in it.

I will never tire of recommending the custom, practiced by the best architects, of preparing not only drawings and sketches, but also models of wood or any other material. These... enable us to examine... the work as a whole... and, before continuing any further, to estimate the likely trouble and expense.

Nothing overshadows truth so much as authority.

The greatest work of an artist is the history of a painting.