Paul Cezanne Quotes about Art

A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.

Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one's sensations.

An art which isn't based on feeling isn't an art at all... feeling is the principle, the beginning and the end; craft, objective, technique - all these are in the middle.

Art is a harmony parallel with nature.

The most seductive thing about art is the personality of the artist himself.

May I repeat what I told you here: treat nature by means of the cylinder, the sphere, the cone, everything brought into proper perspective so that each side of an object or a plane is directed towards a central point. Lines parallel to the horizon give breadth... lines perpendicular to this horizon give depth. But nature for us men is more depth than surface, whence the need to introduce into our light vibrations, represented by the reds and yellows, a sufficient amount of blueness to give the feel of air.

If I were called upon to define briefly the word Art, I should call it the reproduction of what the senses preceive in nature, seen through the veil of the soul.

With an apple I will astonish Paris.

I have not tried to reproduce nature; I have represented it.

For an Impressionist to paint from nature is not to paint the subject, but to realize sensations.

An art which isn't based on feeling isn't an art at all.

Everything vanishes, falls apart, doesn't it? Nature is always the same but nothing in her that appears to us lasts. Our art must render the thrill of her permanence, along with her elements, the appearance of all her changes. It must give us a taste of her Eternity.

All my life I have worked to be able to earn my living, but I thought that one could do good painting without attracting attention to one's private life. Certainly, an artist wishes to raise himself intellectually as much as possible, but the man must remain obscure. The pleasure must be found in the work.

When I judge art, I take my painting and put it next to a God made object like a tree or flower. If it clashes, it is not art.

There is a logic of colors, and it is with this alone, and not with the logic of the brain, that the painter should conform.

Chatter about art is almost always useless.

The Louvre is the book in which we learn to read. We must not, however, be satisfied with retaining the beautiful formulas of our illustrious predecessors. Let us go forth to study beautiful nature, let us try to free our mids from them, let us strive to express ourselves according to our personal temperaments. Time and reflection, moreover, little by little modify our vision, and at last comprehension comes to us.

Design and color are not distinct and separate. As one paints, one draws. The more the colors harmonize, the more the design takes form. When color is at it's richest, form is at its fullest.

You say a new era in art is preparing; you sensed it coming; continue your studies without weakening. God will do the rest.

What is one to think of those fools who tell one that the artist is always subordinate to nature? Art is a harmony parallel with nature.

Art first of all is optical. That's where the material of our art is: in what our eyes think.

I am more a friend of art than a producer of painting.

Taste is the best judge. It is rare. Art only addresses itself to an excessively small number of individuals.

Painting, like any art, comprises a technique, a workmanlike handling of material, but the accuracy of a tone and the fictitious combination of effects depend entirely on the choice made by the artist.

There is no such thing as an amateur artist as different from a professional artist. There is only good art and bad art.