The role of the painter . . . is to project that which sees itself in him.

Collage is the noble conquest of the irrational, the coupling of two realities, irreconcilable in appearance, upon a plane which apparently does not suit them.

The role of the painter . . . is to project that which sees itself in him.

Before he goes into the water, a diver cannot know what he will bring back.

Creativity is that marvelous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition.

The virtue of pride, which was once the beauty of mankind, has given place to that fount of ugliness, Christian humility.

When the artist finds himself he is lost. The fact that he has succeeded in never finding himself is regarded by Max Ernst as his only lasting achievement.