I've been forty years discovering that the queen of all colors is black.
Henri MatisseRead
The essential thing is to work in a state of mind that approaches prayer.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of a mindful and spiritual approach to work, akin to prayer.
Henri Matisse suggests that when we engage in our work, we should do so with a mindset that mirrors the reverence and focus associated with prayer. This notion encourages us to approach our creative or professional endeavors with intention, mindfulness, and a deeper connection to our purpose, making the work itself a form of spiritual expression.
Themes
WorkPrayerMindsetCreativityArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech at an art gallery opening, one could emphasize the importance of approaching creative work like Matisse suggests.
More from Henri Matisse
All quotes βWhoever wishes to devote himself to painting should begin by cutting out his own tongue
Henri MatisseRead
Purer colors... have in themselves, independently of the objects they serve to express, a significant action on the feelings of those who look at them.
Henri MatisseRead
It is not enough to place colors, however beautiful, one beside the other; colors must also react on one another. Otherwise, you have cacophony.
Henri MatisseRead
Color, even more than drawing, is a means of liberation.
Henri MatisseRead
Don't try to be original. Be simple. Be good technically, and if there is something in you, it will come out.
Henri MatisseRead
Similar quotes
To me, beauty is inclusion - every size, every color - that's the world I live in.
Prabal GurungRead
In difficult times, people just like to hear music. They like to be moved by what they hear. And music speaks different languages.
Itzhak PerlmanRead
Who is Katharine Hepburn? It took me a long time to create that creature.
Katharine HepburnRead
Poetry allies itself with beauty - a supreme union - but never uses it as its ultimate goal or sole nourishment.
Saint-John PerseRead
There are lots of similarities between being a writer and a lawyer: to tell a story to a jury, hold their attention, make them laugh, make them like you. But what makes being a barrister less satisfying than being a writer is, finally, that it's about what someone else wants you to say.
John MortimerRead
I'm very much aware in the writing of dialogue, or even in the narrative too, of a rhythm. There has to be a rhythm with it β¦ Interviewers have said, you like jazz, donβt you? Because we can hear it in your writing. And I thought that was a compliment.
Elmore LeonardRead