Artist Quote by Henri Matisse

A work should convey its entire meaning by itself, imposing it on the spectator even before he knows what the subject is.

— Marcel Proust

The ultimate justification of the work of art is to help the spectator to become a work of art himself.

— Bernard Berenson

The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and…

— Marcel Duchamp

All art should have a certain mystery and should make demands on the spectator. Giving a sculpture or a drawing too explicit a title…

— Henry Moore

A work of art must carry in itself its complete significance and impose it upon the beholder even before he can identify the subject-matter...

— Henri Matisse

If one draws things in a manner which provides only the barest clue to their meaning, the viewer is forced to fill in the…

— Antoni Tapies

The work is more important than the talking and the writing about the work.

— Dorothy Day

A piece of art - this goes for a painting or a sculpture or a book or whatever - really shouldn't have to do…

— Max Kellerman

A successful work will draw out the features capable of exciting a sense of beauty and interest in the spectator.

— Alain de Botton

The motif must always be set down in a simple way, easily grasped and understood by the beholder. By the elimination of superfluous detail,…

— Alfred Sisley

In a play, certainly, the subject is of more importance than in any other work of art. Infelicity, triviality, vagueness of subject, may be…

— Henry James

In exposition and in argument, the writer must likewise never lose his hold upon the concrete; and even when he is dealing with general…

— William Strunk, Jr