As I grew older, I realized that it was much better to insist on the genuine forms of nature, for simplicity is the greatest adornment of art.

What beauty is, I know not, though it adheres to many things.

Help us to recognize your voice, help us not to be allured by the madness of the world, so that we may never fall away from you, O Lord Jesus Christ.

I hold that the perfection of form and beauty is contained in the sum of all men.

If a man devotes himself to art, much evil is avoided that happens otherwise if one is idle.

No single man can be taken as a model for a perfect figure, for no man lives on earth who is endowed with the whole of beauty.

The artist is chosen by God to fulfill his commands and must never be overwhelmed by public opinion.

Why has God given me such magnificent talent? It is a curse as well as a great blessing.

And since geometry is the right foundation of all painting, I have decided to teach its rudiments and principles to all youngsters eager for art.

Sane judgment abhors nothing so much as a picture perpetrated with no technical knowledge, although with plenty of care and diligence.

My father suffered much and toiled painfully all his life, for he had no resources other than the proceeds of his trade from which to support himself and his wife and family.