--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whoever wishes to devote himself to…" description: "\"Whoever wishes to devote himself to painting should begin by cutting out his own tongue\" — Henri Matisse" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80d/henri-matisse-1641_cutting_whoever-wishes-to-devote-himself-to-pain_1333337.jpg" --- # Whoever wishes to devote himself to painting should begin… ![“Whoever wishes to devote himself to painting should begin by cutting out his own tongue” quote by Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80d/henri-matisse-1641_cutting_whoever-wishes-to-devote-himself-to-pain_1333337.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80d/henri-matisse-1641_cutting_whoever-wishes-to-devote-himself-to-pain_1333337.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80d/henri-matisse-1641_cutting_whoever-wishes-to-devote-himself-to-pain_1333337.jpg) > “Whoever wishes to devote himself to painting should begin by cutting out his own tongue” [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. True artistic expression requires self‑discipline and the willingness to suppress ego. **In simple terms:** Art needs self‑control, not ego. Key Takeaway Cultivate humility and focus on the work. Themes art discipline ego creativity self‑control Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - painting practice - creative writing - performance preparation - public speaking Key Concepts expressionism self‑censorship artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - What personal habits help silence ego? - When does self‑discipline become self‑censorship? A Different Perspective Suppressing ego may stifle personal voice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Begin Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begin-cutting-1984293/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Cutting Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting-tongue-1334929/) [Devote Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devote-painting-3313928/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-begin-1867619/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [I do not plan any painting, but begin with layers of textures and colors. 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We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/we-dance-we-dance-you-hold-the-thread-of-my-soul-you-spin-you-spin/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [“Make sure he's worth it. She had thought it so many times it had become a part of her. Like her tongue filling her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccarty/make-sure-he-s-worth-it-she-had-thought-it-so-many-times-it-had/) [Colleen McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccarty/) > [Humor is consistent with pathos, whilst wit is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/humor-is-consistent-with-pathos-whilst-wit-is-not/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [In the name of Jerusalem. If I forget the extermination of the Jews, may my right hand wither, may my tongue stick to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/in-the-name-of-jerusalem-if-i-forget-the-extermination-of-the-jews/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [On July 26, 1916, I announced to all my friends in America that from now on I resolved to write no more poems in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hu-shih/on-july-26-1916-i-announced-to-all-my-friends-in-america-that-from/) [Hu Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hu-shih/) > [“He grabbed a pancake off the nearest plate, tore a bite-sized piece off, and held it in front of her lips. Her nostrils flared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eden-summers/he-grabbed-a-pancake-off-the-nearest-plate-tore-a-bite-sized-piece/) [Eden Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eden-summers/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) ## 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 Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. 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I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whoever wishes to devote himself to painting should begin by cutting out his own tongue", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henri Matisse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/whoever-wishes-to-devote-himself-to-painting-should-begin-by-cutting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/whoever-wishes-to-devote-himself-to-painting-should-begin-by-cutting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80d/henri-matisse-1641_cutting_whoever-wishes-to-devote-himself-to-pain_1333337.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80d/henri-matisse-1641_cutting_whoever-wishes-to-devote-himself-to-pain_1333337.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80d/henri-matisse-1641_cutting_whoever-wishes-to-devote-himself-to-pain_1333337.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whoever wishes to devote himself to painting should begin by cutting out his own tongue” — 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": "Whoever wishes to devote himself to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/whoever-wishes-to-devote-himself-to-painting-should-begin-by-cutting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/whoever-wishes-to-devote-himself-to-painting-should-begin-by-cutting/#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 } } ] } ```