If the painter works directly from nature, he ultimately looks for nothing but momentary effects; he does not try to compose, and soon he gets monotonous.

One morning, one of us ran out of the black, it was the birth of Impressionism.

The simplest subjects are the immortal ones.

An artist, under pain of oblivion, must have confidence in himself, and listen only to his real master: Nature.

There isn't a single person or landscape or subject which doesn't possess some interest, although it may not be immediately apparent. When a painter discovers this hidden treasure, other people are immediately struck by its beauty.

We are in a period of searchers rather than of creators.

It is after you have lost your teeth that you can afford to buy steaks.