---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Would not it be best to leave room to…"
description: "\"Would not it be best to leave room to mystery?\" — Henri Matisse"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/henri-matisse-1641_art_would-not-it-be-best-to-leave-room-to-my_795456.jpg"
---

#  Would not it be best to leave room to mystery?

![“Would not it be best to leave room to mystery?” quote by Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/henri-matisse-1641_art_would-not-it-be-best-to-leave-room-to-my_795456.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/henri-matisse-1641_art_would-not-it-be-best-to-leave-room-to-my_795456.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/henri-matisse-1641_art_would-not-it-be-best-to-leave-room-to-my_795456.jpg)

> “Would not it be best to leave room to mystery?”

[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.

Leaving space for the unknown invites curiosity and personal interpretation.

**In simple terms:** Allow mystery to inspire.

Key Takeaway

Embrace uncertainty.

Themes

creativity interpretation curiosity

Mood

reflective inquisitive

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- art criticism
- creative writing
- personal growth
- problem solving

Key Concepts

existentialism aesthetic openness

Questions to Reflect On

- How does mystery affect your decision making?
- When is clarity more valuable?

A Different Perspective

Too much mystery can cause paralysis or fear.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/)

## Related quotes

> [“Ultimately, we must leave room for mystery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monks-of-new-skete/ultimately-we-must-leave-room-for-mystery/)

[Monks of New Skete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monks-of-new-skete/)

> [You have to leave room in life to dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buffy-sainte-marie/you-have-to-leave-room-in-life-to-dream/)

[Buffy Sainte-Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buffy-sainte-marie/)

> ['THIS ROOM HAS MYSTERY LIKE A TRANCE' This room has mystery like a trance Of wine ; forget-me-nots of you Are chair and couch,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/this-room-has-mystery-like-a-trance-this-room-has-mystery-like-a/)

[Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/)

> [When you are in a bad production there are two things you can do. You can do your best or you can leave. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-west/when-you-are-in-a-bad-production-there-are-two-things-you-can-do-you/)

[Samuel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-west/)

> [By the time I'm done with my show, I'm in Never-Never Land. Usually I leave the room for the auction and try to chill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-israel/by-the-time-i-m-done-with-my-show-i-m-in-never-never-land-usually-i/)

[Michael Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-israel/)

> [Time to leave now, get out of this room, go somewhere, anywhere; sharpen this feeling of happiness and freedom, stretch your limbs, fill your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/time-to-leave-now-get-out-of-this-room-go-somewhere-anywhere-sharpen/)

[Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/)

> [“Do your best. Leave the rest!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sima-tahmouresie/do-your-best-leave-the-rest/)

Sima Tahmouresie

> [It's always best if you can leave with a good memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-van-der-sar/it-s-always-best-if-you-can-leave-with-a-good-memory/)

[Edwin van der Sar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-van-der-sar/)

> [Do your best and leave the rest to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manisha-koirala/do-your-best-and-leave-the-rest-to-god/)

[Manisha Koirala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manisha-koirala/)

> [God gives His best to those who leave the choice to Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-ludy/god-gives-his-best-to-those-who-leave-the-choice-to-him/)

[Leslie Ludy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-ludy/)

> [All haters expose themselves, so it's best to leave it alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/all-haters-expose-themselves-so-it-s-best-to-leave-it-alone/)

[Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/)

> [When you leave a place, it's best to leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/when-you-leave-a-place-it-s-best-to-leave/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [If you want him to mourn, you had best leave him nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/if-you-want-him-to-mourn-you-had-best-leave-him-nothing/)

[Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/)

> [“Best to leave farts and the past behind you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-reid/best-to-leave-farts-and-the-past-behind-you/)

[Penny Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-reid/)

> [“God gives the best to those who leave the choice to Him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rochunga-pudaite/god-gives-the-best-to-those-who-leave-the-choice-to-him/)

Rochunga Pudaite

## 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": "Would not it be best to leave room to mystery?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Henri Matisse"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/would-not-it-be-best-to-leave-room-to-mystery/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/would-not-it-be-best-to-leave-room-to-mystery/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/henri-matisse-1641_art_would-not-it-be-best-to-leave-room-to-my_795456.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/henri-matisse-1641_art_would-not-it-be-best-to-leave-room-to-my_795456.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/henri-matisse-1641_art_would-not-it-be-best-to-leave-room-to-my_795456.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Would not it be best to leave room to mystery?” — 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": "Would not it be best to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/would-not-it-be-best-to-leave-room-to-mystery/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/would-not-it-be-best-to-leave-room-to-mystery/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
