Robert Henri Quotes
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The artist should be intoxicated with the idea of the thing he wants to express.
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Artists must be men of wit, consciously or unconsciously philosophers; read, study and think a great deal of life.
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There is nothing in all the world more beautiful or significant of the laws of the universe than the nude human body.
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Because we are saturated with life, because we are human, our strongest motive is life, humanity; and the stronger the motive back of the line the stronger, and therefore more beautiful, the line will be.
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Completion does not depend on material representation. The work is done when that special thing has been said.
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I can think of no greater happiness than to be clear-sighted and know the miracle when it happens. And I can think of no more real life than the adventurous one of living and liking and exclaiming the things of one's own time.
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I am interested in art as a means of living a life; not as a means of making a living.
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A Curve does not exist in its full power until contrasted with a straight line.
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There is nothing more entertaining than to have a frank talk with yourself. Few do it-frankly. Educating yourself is getting acquainted with yourself.
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Do not worry about your originality. You could not get rid of it even if you wanted to.
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Beauty is an intangible thing; can not be fixed on the surface, and the wear and tear of old age on the body cannot defeat it. Nor will a "pretty" face make it, for "pretty" faces are often dull and empty, and beauty is never dull and it fills all spaces.
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Beauty is no material thing. Beauty cannot be copied. Beauty is the sensation of pleasure on the mind of the seer. No thing is beautiful. But all things await the sensitive and imaginative mind that may be aroused to pleasurable emotion at sight of them. This is beauty.
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Find out what you really like if you can. Find out what is really important to you. Then sing your song. You will have something to sing about and your whole heart will be in the singing.
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All the past up to a moment ago is your legacy. You have a right to it.
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Color is only beautiful when it means something.
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The good thing about painting from memory is that so much is forgotten.
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There is weakness in pretending to know more than you know or in stating less than you know.
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Fight with yourself when you paint, not with the model. A student is one who struggles with himself for order.
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The pursuit of happiness is a great activity. One must be open and alive. It is the greatest feat man has to accomplish, and spirits must flow. There must be courage. There are no easy ruts to get into which lead to happiness. A man must become interesting to himself and must become actually expressive before he can be happy.
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Art is certainly not a pursuit for anyone who wants to make money.
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In great art there is no beginning and end in point of time. All time is comprehended.
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Strokes carry a message whether you will it or not. The stroke is just like the artist at the time he makes it. All the certainties, all the uncertainties, all the bigness of his spirit and the littlenesses are in it.
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There are people who buy pictures because they were difficult to do, and are done. Such pictures are often only a record of pain and dull perseverance. Great works of art should look as though they were made in joy. Real joy is a tremendous activity, dull drudgery is nothing to it.
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Genius is not a possession of the limited few, but exists in some degree in everyone. Where there is natural growth, a full and free play of faculties, genius will manifest itself.
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Colors are beautiful when they are significant.
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All is as beautiful as we think it.
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The man who has honesty, integrity, the love of inquiry, the desire to see beyond, is ready to appreciate good art.
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The object, which is back of every true work of art, is the attainment of a state of being, a state of high functioning, a more than ordinary moment of existence. In such moments activity is inevitable, and whether this activity is with brush, pen, chisel, or tongue, its result is but a by-product of the state, a trace, the footprint of the state.
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Whatever you feel or think your exact state at the exact moment of your brush touching the canvas is in some way registered in that stroke.
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I paint for the sole purpose of magnifying the privilege of being alive.
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