--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I close my eyes, I see things better…" description: "\"If I close my eyes, I see things better than with my eyes open.\" — Henri Matisse" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/henri-matisse-1641_eye_if-i-close-my-eyes-i-see-things-better-t_1457175.jpg" --- # If I close my eyes, I see things better than with my eyes… ![“If I close my eyes, I see things better than with my eyes open.” quote by Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/henri-matisse-1641_eye_if-i-close-my-eyes-i-see-things-better-t_1457175.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/henri-matisse-1641_eye_if-i-close-my-eyes-i-see-things-better-t_1457175.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/henri-matisse-1641_eye_if-i-close-my-eyes-i-see-things-better-t_1457175.jpg) > “If I close my eyes, I see things better than with my eyes open.” [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. Closing eyes can sharpen imagination, allowing inner vision to surpass external perception. **In simple terms:** Imagining with closed eyes can be clearer than seeing. Key Takeaway Practice visualizing internally. Themes imagination perception creativity mindfulness Mood contemplative inspired Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - meditation - creative brainstorming - visual arts training Key Concepts inner vision mental imagery artistic inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How does closing eyes affect creative thinking? - When is visual imagination more useful than observation? A Different Perspective Relying solely on imagination may miss real‑world details. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [You can close your eyes to things u don't want to see,but u can't close your heart to things you don't want to feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thegr81/you-can-close-your-eyes-to-things-u-don-t-want-to-see-but-u-can-t/) Thegr81 > [You can close your eyes to the things you don't want to see, but you can't close your heart to the things you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/you-can-close-your-eyes-to-the-things-you-don-t-want-to-see-but-you-2/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [Yes, we can close our eyes to the things we don't want to see.But, We can't close our hearts to the things we don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yes-we-can-close-our-eyes-to-the-things-we-don-t-want-to-see-but-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can close your eyes to the things you don't want to see, but you can't close your heart to the things you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-close-your-eyes-to-the-things-you-don-t-want-to-see-but-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can close your eyes to things you don't wanna see, but you can't close your heart to things you don't wanna feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-rh-aume/you-can-close-your-eyes-to-things-you-don-t-wanna-see-but-you-can-t/) Emily Rhéaume > [You can close your eyes to the things you dont want to see, but you cant close your heart to the things you dont…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-close-your-eyes-to-the-things-you-dont-want-to-see-but-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometime I see better with my eyes closed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/sometime-i-see-better-with-my-eyes-closed/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [Everything looks better with my eyes closed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-springfield/everything-looks-better-with-my-eyes-closed/) [Rick Springfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-springfield/) > [Looking good in the eyes are better than others. 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We see ourselves better in the eyes of](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/looking-good-in-the-eyes-are-better-than-others-we-see-ourselves/) Mak\_786 > [It's not the people you see when your eyes are open that you love, it is the ones you see when you close your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas/it-s-not-the-people-you-see-when-your-eyes-are-open-that-you-love-it/) [Ryaj Ablando Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas/) > [You are free. Close your eyes. Open your mind. 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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 Eye quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [If you take your eye off the ball or lose focus for even a minute you can lose a game against any team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/if-you-take-your-eye-off-the-ball-or-lose-focus-for-even-a-minute-you/) [Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/) > [“He blinked. His eyes fell as he processed her response. Then he lifted his chin and attempted a grin that was almost painfully dejected.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/he-blinked-his-eyes-fell-as-he-processed-her-response-then-he-lifted/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [Quotations can be valuable, like raisins in the rice pudding, for adding iron as well as eye appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/quotations-can-be-valuable-like-raisins-in-the-rice-pudding-for/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [Clearly, when we baptize, our eyes should gaze beyond the baptismal font to the holy temple. The great garner into which the sheaves should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/clearly-when-we-baptize-our-eyes-should-gaze-beyond-the-baptismal/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) Browse all 16,237 Eye quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I close my eyes, I see things better than with my eyes open.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henri Matisse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/if-i-close-my-eyes-i-see-things-better-than-with-my-eyes-open/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eye" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/if-i-close-my-eyes-i-see-things-better-than-with-my-eyes-open/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/henri-matisse-1641_eye_if-i-close-my-eyes-i-see-things-better-t_1457175.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/henri-matisse-1641_eye_if-i-close-my-eyes-i-see-things-better-t_1457175.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/henri-matisse-1641_eye_if-i-close-my-eyes-i-see-things-better-t_1457175.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I close my eyes, I see things better than with my eyes open.” — Henri Matisse", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Henri Matisse", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I close my eyes, I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/if-i-close-my-eyes-i-see-things-better-than-with-my-eyes-open/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/if-i-close-my-eyes-i-see-things-better-than-with-my-eyes-open/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```