Until 1954, I'd only ever thought of being a painter, but I earned my money when and where I could. You could say I drifted into writing.
Copied to Clipboard
Copied to Clipboard
Degas was obsessed by the art of classical ballet, because to him it said something about the human condition. He was not a balletomane looking for an alternative world to escape into. Dance offered him a display in which he could find, after much searching, certain human secrets.
Copied to Clipboard
Copied to Clipboard
Hope is a contraband passed from hand to hand and story to story.
Copied to Clipboard
Copied to Clipboard
A line, an area of tone, is not really important because it records what you have seen, but because of what it will lead you on to see. Following up its logic in order to check its accuracy, you find confirmation or denial in the object itself or in your memory of it.
Copied to Clipboard
Copied to Clipboard
I actually think of myself as quite a shy person, although I know I give the impression of someone much more confident. I think what I do have is a capacity to listen to the other, even if the other is an opponent. That leads, in all senses of the word, to an engagement.
Copied to Clipboard
Copied to Clipboard
Painting is something that you need to do, if not every day, then certainly most days. It is almost like being a pianist: if you stop, you lose something.
Copied to Clipboard
Copied to Clipboard
I wanted to write about looking at the world, so it's more about helping people, or persuading people, to see what is around us; both the marvellous and the terrible.
Copied to Clipboard
Copied to Clipboard
I think I'm very permeable. I can very easily, without even choosing to do it, enter the life of another. Or, to put it in a more modest and accurate way, for that life to enter mine.
Copied to Clipboard
Copied to Clipboard
The human quality Degas most admired was endurance.