256 Quotes by Henri Matisse

The sign for which I forge an image has no value if it doesn’t harmonize with other signs, which I must determine in the course of my invention and which are completely peculiar to it.

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.

Each work of art is a collection of signs invented during the picture’s execution to suit the needs of their position. Taken out of the composition for which they were created, these signs have no further use.

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.

Hatred is a parasite that devours all. One doesn’t build upon hatred, but upon love.

The residuum of another’s expression can never be related to one’s own feeling.

A certain blue enters your soul.

When I paint green, it doesn’t mean grass; when I paint blue, it doesn’t mean sky.

I am made of all that I have seen.