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
'Write' is almost the wrong verb for what I do. I think 'compose' is more accurate because you're trying to make the sounds in your mind and in your voice. So I compose while I'm driving or in the shower.
Robert PinskyRead
The song that nerves a nation's heart is in itself a deed.
Alfred Lord TennysonRead
I don't want to think that the stories are finite; I want to feel that they can go on forever.
Steven MoffatRead
Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them, but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths.
Eddie AdamsRead
One must die to life in order to be utterly a creator.
Thomas MannRead
You know, Hitler wanted to be an artist. At eighteen he took his inheritance, seven hundred kronen, and moved to Vienna to live and study... Ever see one of his paintings? Neither have I. Resistance beat him. Call it overstatement but I'll say it anyway: it was easier for Hitler to start World War II than it was for him to face a blank square of canvas.
Steven PressfieldRead