Gustave Courbet Quotes

Art in painting should consist only of the representation of things that are visible and tangible.

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

Art or talent, for an artist, is merely a means of applying his personal faculties to the ideas and the things of the period in which he lives.

The expression of beauty is in direct ratio to the power of conception the artist has acquired.

I too am a government.

When we see men of worth, we should think of equalling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inward and examine ourselves.

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.

Beauty, like truth, is relative to the time when one lives and to the individual who can grasp it.

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

When I am no longer controversial, I will no longer be important

I have never seen either angels or goddesses, so I am not interested in painting them.

The principle of realism means denial of the ideal.

Fine art is knowledge made visible.

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

Art is a wholly physical language whose words are all the visible objects.

Beauty lies in nature and reveals, once the artist has perceived it, its own expressive power.

Painting is an essentially concrete art and can only consist of the representation of real and existing things.

Titles have never given a just idea of things; were it otherwise, the work would be superfluous.

I have never seen an angel. Show me an angel, and I'll paint one.

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