--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An artist is an explorer. He has to begin…" description: "\"An artist is an explorer. He has to begin by self-discovery and by observation of his own procedure. After that he must not feel under any constraint.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/382/henri-matisse-1641_art_an-artist-is-an-explorer-he-has-to-begin_1117740.jpg" --- # An artist is an explorer. He has to begin by… ![“An artist is an explorer. He has to begin by self-discovery and by observation of his own procedure. After that he must not feel under any constraint.” quote by Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/382/henri-matisse-1641_art_an-artist-is-an-explorer-he-has-to-begin_1117740.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/382/henri-matisse-1641_art_an-artist-is-an-explorer-he-has-to-begin_1117740.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/382/henri-matisse-1641_art_an-artist-is-an-explorer-he-has-to-begin_1117740.jpg) > “An artist is an explorer. He has to begin by self-discovery and by observation of his own procedure. After that he must not feel under any constraint.” [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists must explore themselves and observe their methods, then create without constraints. **In simple terms:** Artists explore themselves, then work freely. Key Takeaway Embrace self‑discovery and creative freedom. Themes creativity self‑exploration freedom Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - painting - design - personal projects Key Concepts artistic process innovation Questions to Reflect On - How do you break creative limits? - What self‑discovery steps help your art? A Different Perspective Constraints can inspire creativity for well. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Explorer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explorer/) [Explorers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explorers/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-discovery/) ## Related quotes > [An artist is an explorer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/an-artist-is-an-explorer/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [An artist must not feel under any constraint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/an-artist-must-not-feel-under-any-constraint/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [... everyone's free to embark on either a great clipper or a little fishing boat. An artist is an explorer who oughtn't to shrink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/everyone-s-free-to-embark-on-either-a-great-clipper-or-a-little/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [In the nature of the case, an explorer can never know what he is exploring until it has been explored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/in-the-nature-of-the-case-an-explorer-can-never-know-what-he-is/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Very often, human beings are living like on autopilot, reacting automatically with what happens. What interests me about the life of an explorer is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-piccard/very-often-human-beings-are-living-like-on-autopilot-reacting/) [Bertrand Piccard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-piccard/) > [If you're not lost, you're not much of an explorer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/if-you-re-not-lost-you-re-not-much-of-an-explorer/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [I'm not a stunt man. I'm not a dare devil...I'm an explorer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evel-knievel/i-m-not-a-stunt-man-i-m-not-a-dare-devil-i-m-an-explorer/) [Evel Knievel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evel-knievel/) > [I see myself as an explorer more than a storyteller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-oppenheimer/i-see-myself-as-an-explorer-more-than-a-storyteller/) [Joshua Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-oppenheimer/) > [ In my heart, ever since I \[was\] a little kid, I've been an explorer. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-corwin/in-my-heart-ever-since-i-was-a-little-kid-i-ve-been-an-explorer/) [Jeff Corwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-corwin/) > [I always wanted to be an explorer, but - it seemed I was doomed to be nothing more than a very silly person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-always-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-it-seemed-i-was-doomed-to-be/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [I feel like I'm an explorer, a frontiersman if you will, and I've been able to satisfy that desire in me through music. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-butler/i-feel-like-i-m-an-explorer-a-frontiersman-if-you-will-and-i-ve-been/) [Ishmael Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-butler/) > [Everyone is an explorer. How could you possibly live your life looking at a door and not open it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/everyone-is-an-explorer-how-could-you-possibly-live-your-life-looking/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [I would love to do a western. I would love to play an explorer. That is always something that has really captured my imagination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-reilly/i-would-love-to-do-a-western-i-would-love-to-play-an-explorer-that-is/) [John C. Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-reilly/) > [I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/i-am-not-a-glutton-i-am-an-explorer-of-food/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [From early childhood I had always dreamed of becoming an explorer. Somehow I had acquired the impression that an explorer was someone who lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-goddard/from-early-childhood-i-had-always-dreamed-of-becoming-an-explorer/) [John Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-goddard/) ## More by Henri Matisse > [The wall around the window does not create two worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/the-wall-around-the-window-does-not-create-two-worlds/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Arrival = Prison, and the artist must never be a prisoner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/arrival-prison-and-the-artist-must-never-be-a-prisoner/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [To arrive is to be in prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/to-arrive-is-to-be-in-prison/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [When I saw what a mess everything was in I asked for my money back on the ticket. I would have felt I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/when-i-saw-what-a-mess-everything-was-in-i-asked-for-my-money-back-on/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [A painting in an interior spreads joy around it by the colors, which calm us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/a-painting-in-an-interior-spreads-joy-around-it-by-the-colors-which/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Color was not given to us in order that we should imitate Nature. It was given to us so that we can express our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/color-was-not-given-to-us-in-order-that-we-should-imitate-nature-it/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [If it is practiced by a man of taste, the photograph will have the appearance of art (but) the photographer must...intervene as little as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/if-it-is-practiced-by-a-man-of-taste-the-photograph-will-have-the/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have a light joyousness of springtime which never lets anyone suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-have-always-tried-to-hide-my-efforts-and-wished-my-works-to-have-a/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [The chief function of color should be to serve expression as well as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/the-chief-function-of-color-should-be-to-serve-expression-as-well-as/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [One gets into a state of creativity by conscious work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/one-gets-into-a-state-of-creativity-by-conscious-work/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [My pictures are made up of four or five colors that collide with one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/my-pictures-are-made-up-of-four-or-five-colors-that-collide-with-one/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [What I dream of is an art of balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/what-i-dream-of-is-an-art-of-balance/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [...I am driven on by an idea that I really only grasp as it grows with the picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-am-driven-on-by-an-idea-that-i-really-only-grasp-as-it-grows-with/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I don't paint things. I only paint the difference between things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-don-t-paint-things-i-only-paint-the-difference-between-things/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [After a half-century of hard work and reflection the wall is still there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/after-a-half-century-of-hard-work-and-reflection-the-wall-is-still/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) [Explore all 219 Henri Matisse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An artist is an explorer. 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