From the moment I held the box of colors in my hands, I knew this was my life. I threw myself into it like a beast that plunges towards the thing it loves. - Henri Matisse
Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us. - Henri Matisse
Don't wait for inspiration. It comes while working. - Henri Matisse
You must forget all your theories, all your ideas before the subject. What part of these is really your own will be expressed in your expression of the emotion awakened in you by the subject. - Henri Matisse
Creativity takes courage. - Henri Matisse
What I dream of is an art of balance. - Henri Matisse
I don't know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I'm some kind of a Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer. - Henri Matisse
To look at something as though we had never seen it before requires great courage. - Henri Matisse
The importance of an artist is to be measured by the quantity of new signs which he has introduced to the language of art. - Henri Matisse