I say that in narrative paintings one should mingle direct contraries close by, because they produce strong contrasts with one another, and all the more so when they are very close together; that is, the ugly next to the beautiful, the big to the small, the old to the young, the strong to the weak; in this way you will vary as much as possible and close by.

Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.

Happy will they be who lend ear to the words of the dead.

People of higher talent work, even if they seem to do nothing

The most beautiful words of love are told in silence for a look.

In life beauty perishes, but not in art.

You don't get into trouble because of the things you don't know. It is the things you don't know you don't know that really get you into a mess.