“Why shouldn’t art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world.”

“There are quite enough unpleasant things in life without the need to manufacture more.”

“To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is without creating still more of them.”

“The work of art must seize upon you, wrap you up in itself, carry you away. It is the means by which the artist conveys his passion; it is the current which he puts forth which sweeps you along in his passion.”

“I've been 40 years discovering that the queen of all colors was black.”

“The pain passes, but the beauty remains.”

“The more they measure, the more they realize how much the Greeks departed from regular and banal lines in order to produce their effect.”