From such a gentle thing, from such a fountain of all delight, my every pain is born.
I live in sin, to kill myself I live; no longer my life my own, but sin's; my good is given to me by heaven, my evil by myself, by my free will, of which I am deprived.
What do you despise? By this you are truly known.
Even if you are divine, you don't disdain male consorts.
My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth's loveliness.
I am a poor man and of little worth, who is laboring in that art that God has given me in order to extend my life as long as possible.
If in my youth I had realized that the sustaining splendour of beauty of with which I was in love would one day flood back into my heart, there to ignite a flame that would torture me without end, how gladly would I have put out the light in my eyes.
Death and love are the two wings that bear the good man to heaven.
Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.
The more the marbles wastes, the more the statue grows.
If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all.
I cannot live under pressures from patrons, let alone paint.
Genius is eternal patience.
I live and love in God's peculiar light.
If we have been pleased with life, we should not be displeased with death, since it comes from the hand of the same master.
Faith in oneself is the best and safest course.
Good painting is the kind that looks like sculpture.
The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.
Many believe - and I believe - that I have been designated for this work by God. In spite of my old age, I do not want to give it up; I work out of love for God and I put all my hope in Him.
Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle.
