The Principle Of Realism Means

I Am Fifty Years Old And I Have Always Lived In Freedom; Let Me End My Life Free; When I Am Dead Let This Be Said Of Me: 'he Belonged To No School, To No Church, To No Institution, To No Academy, Least Of All To Any Regime Except The Regime Of Liberty.'

When I Am No Longer Controversial, I Will No Longer Be Important

It Is Fatal For Art If It Is Forced Into Official Respectability And Condemned To Sterile Mediocrity.

To Be Able To Translate The Customs, Ideas And Appearance Of My Times As I See Them - In A Word, To Create A Living Art - This Has Been My Aim.

Painting Is The Representation Of Visible Forms. The Essence Of Realism Is Its Negation Of The Ideal.