I've been forty years discovering that the queen of all colors is black.
Henri MatisseRead
Instinct must be thwarted just as one prunes the branches of a tree so that it will grow better.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Just as pruning is necessary for a tree's growth, overcoming our instincts can lead to better personal development.
This quote by Henri Matisse draws a parallel between the natural process of pruning a tree and the cultivation of our personal growth. It suggests that sometimes, in order to foster improvement and growth, we must intentionally suppress certain instincts or tendencies that may hinder our development, much like a gardener trims branches to promote healthier and more fruitful growth in plants.
Themes
GrowthInstinctPruningDevelopmentImprovement
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about personal development.
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
A man's behavior is the index of the man, and his discourse is the index of his understanding.
Ali Ibn Abi TalibRead
People with a high level of personal mastery are able to consistently realize the results that matter most deeply to them-in effect, they approach their life as an artist would approach a work of art. The do that by becoming committed to their own lifelong learning.
Peter SengeRead
Between believing a thing and thinking you KNOW is only a small step and quickly taken.
Mark TwainRead
The beauty of getting older is the surprise of what else you can do to make the world a better place with the wisdom that you've accrued over those years.
Goldie HawnRead
This was my moment to look for the kind of healing and peace that can only come from solitude.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
The fault finder will find faults even in paradise and thereby miss the joys that recognition of the positives bring.
Henry David ThoreauRead