One thing that makes art different from life is that in art things have a shape... it allows us to read more

One thing that makes art different from life is that in art things have a shape... it allows us to fix our emotions on events at the moment they occur, it permits a union of heart and mind and tongue and tear.

All autobiography is self-indulgent.

All autobiography is self-indulgent.

Every other artist begins with a blank canvas, a piece of paper the photographer begins with the finished product.

Every other artist begins with a blank canvas, a piece of paper the photographer begins with the finished product.

Impressionism is the newspaper of the soul.

Impressionism is the newspaper of the soul.

Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.

Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.

Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad.

Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad.

As for types like my own, obscurely motivated by the conviction that our existence was worthless if we didn't make read more

As for types like my own, obscurely motivated by the conviction that our existence was worthless if we didn't make a turning point of it, we were assigned to the humanities, to poetry, philosophy, painting -- the nursery games of humankind, which had to be left behind when the age of science began. The humanities would be called upon to choose a wallpaper for the crypt, as the end drew near.

For me, painting is a way to forget life. It is a cry in the night, a strangled laugh.

For me, painting is a way to forget life. It is a cry in the night, a strangled laugh.

The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure.

The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure.