Painting, like any art, comprises a technique, a workmanlike handling of material, but the accuracy of a tone and the fictitious combination of effects depend entirely on the choice made by the artist.

What is one to think of those fools who tell one that the artist is always subordinate to nature? Art is a harmony parallel with nature.

The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.

I have nothing to hide in art. The initial force alone can bring anyone to the end he must attain.

I must be more sensible and realize that at my age, illusions are hardly permitted and they will always destroy me.

Everything vanishes, falls apart, doesn't it? Nature is always the same but nothing in her that appears to us lasts. Our art must render the thrill of her permanence, along with her elements, the appearance of all her changes. It must give us a taste of her Eternity.

Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one's sensations.