QuoteProject
What I am after, above all, is expression.
Henri Matisse
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of personal expression in creating art.

Henri Matisse's quote reflects his belief that the ultimate goal of art is to convey one's personal expression rather than to conform to external standards or expectations. This perspective highlights the intrinsic value of creativity, suggesting that true artistry comes from one's authentic voice and experience.

Themes

ExpressionArtCreativityAuthenticityPersonal Voice

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech at an art exhibition, one could use this quote to inspire artists to pursue their unique styles.

More from Henri Matisse

I've been forty years discovering that the queen of all colors is black.
Henri MatisseRead
Whoever 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

No art or learning is to be pursued halfheartedly...and any art worth learning will certainly reward more or less generously the effort made to study it.
Murasaki ShikibuRead
What my character is or how many jails I have lounged in, or wards or walls or wassails, how many lonely-heart poetry readings I have dodged, is beside the point. A man's soul or lack of it will be evident with what he can carve upon a white sheet of paper.
Charles BukowskiRead
One has a nose. The nose scents and it chooses. An artist is simply a kind of pig snouting truffles.
Igor StravinskyRead
I think that the job of poetry, its political job, is to refresh the idea of justice, which is going dead in us all the time.
Robert HassRead
I do not believe in adding enrichment merely for the sake of enrichment. Unless it adds clearness to the enunciation of the theme, it is undesirable, for it is very little understood.
Frank Lloyd WrightRead
I'm creating an imaginary β€” it's always imaginary β€” world in which I would like to live.
William S. BurroughsRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.