• What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.

    Henri Matisse: What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.
    Notes d'un peintre (Notes of a Painter, 1908) in Dominique Fourcade crits et propos sur l'art (1972) p. 30