France is the only nation in which astoundingly small numbers of civilized patrons reside.

Painting is the representation of visible forms. The essence of realism is its negation of the ideal.

I hope to live all my life for my art, without abandoning my principles one iota.

I am not one who was born in the custody of wisdom; I am one who is fond of olden times and intense in quest of the sacred knowing of the ancients.