The only competition worthy of a wise man is with himself.
Nothing gets you behind faster than trying to keep up with people who are already there.
The love of gain never made a painter; but it has marred many.
Distinction is the consequence, never the object of a great mind.
Selfishness in art, as in other things, is sensibility kept at home.
The painter who is content with the praise of the world for what does not satisfy himself, is not an artist, but an artisan; for though his reward be only praise, his pay is that of a mechanic.