Top 45 Henri Matisse Quotes

Words matter. These are the best Henri Matisse Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.

Jazz is rhythm and meaning.

Jazz is rhythm and meaning.
Henri Matisse
Instinct must be thwarted just as one prunes the branches of a tree so that it will grow better.
Henri Matisse
Impressionism is the newspaper of the soul.
Henri Matisse
Exactitude is not truth.
Henri Matisse
I have been no more than a medium, as it were.
Henri Matisse
I don’t know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I’m some sort of Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer.
Henri Matisse
There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted.
Henri Matisse
An artist must never be a prisoner. Prisoner? An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc.
Henri Matisse
It is only after years of preparation that the young artist should touch color – not color used descriptively, that is, but as a means of personal expression.
Henri Matisse
There are always flowers for those who want to see them.
Henri Matisse
It is only after years of preparation that the young artist should touch color – not color used descriptively, that is, but as a means of personal expression.
Henri Matisse
Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence.
Henri Matisse
He who loves, flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free and nothing holds him back.
Henri Matisse
I would like to recapture that freshness of vision which is characteristic of extreme youth when all the world is new to it.
Henri Matisse
I don’t paint things. I only paint the difference between things.
Henri Matisse
In the beginning you must subject yourself to the influence of nature. You must be able to walk firmly on the ground before you start walking on a tightrope.
Henri Matisse
You study, you learn, but you guard the original naivete. It has to be within you, as desire for drink is within the drunkard or love is within the lover.
Henri Matisse
What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter – a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.
Henri Matisse
Impressionism is the newspaper of the soul.
Henri Matisse
Creativity takes courage.
Henri Matisse
It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.
Henri Matisse
Work cures everything.
Henri Matisse
It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.
Henri Matisse
I would like to recapture that freshness of vision which is characteristic of extreme youth when all the world is new to it.
Henri Matisse
I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces upon me.
Henri Matisse
I don’t paint things. I only paint the difference between things.
Henri Matisse
I’m growing old, I delight in the past.
Henri Matisse
Jazz is rhythm and meaning.
Henri Matisse
I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces upon me.
Henri Matisse
An artist must never be a prisoner. Prisoner? An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc.
Henri Matisse
A picture must possess a real power to generate light and for a long time now I’ve been conscious of expressing myself through light or rather in light.
Henri Matisse
In love, the one who runs away is the winner.

In love, the one who runs away is the winner.
Henri Matisse
I have been no more than a medium, as it were.
Henri Matisse
I wouldn’t mind turning into a vermilion goldfish.
Henri Matisse
He who loves, flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free and nothing holds him back.
Henri Matisse
A young woman has young claws, well sharpened. If she has character, that is. And if she hasn’t so much the worse for you.
Henri Matisse
My curves are not crazy.
Henri Matisse
I’m growing old, I delight in the past.
Henri Matisse
Creativity takes courage.
Henri Matisse
There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted.
Henri Matisse
I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have a light joyousness of springtime which never lets anyone suspect the labors it has cost me.
Henri Matisse
My curves are not crazy.
Henri Matisse
In love, the one who runs away is the winner.
Henri Matisse
You study, you learn, but you guard the original naivete. It has to be within you, as desire for drink is within the drunkard or love is within the lover.
Henri Matisse
An artist must possess Nature. He must identify himself with her rhythm, by efforts that will prepare the mastery which will later enable him to express himself in his own language.
Henri Matisse