Here’s a collection of 100 quotes by Claude Monet, reflecting his views on art, nature, creativity, and life:
On Art and Creativity
- “Colour is my day-long obsession, joy, and torment.”
- “I am following Nature without being able to grasp her.”
- “I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.”
- “I would like to paint the way a bird sings.”
- “The motif is insignificant for me; what I want to represent is what lies between the motif and me.”
- “It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way.”
- “Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.”
- “I paint as I see, as I feel, and always with joy.”
- “I want the unobtainable. That’s what I aim for.”
- “I am driven to paint by an inner force; I have no wish to give it any name.”
- “My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.”
- “I want to paint the air around the bridge, the house, the boat — the beauty of the light in which they exist.”
- “Try to forget what objects you have before you — a tree, a house, a field. Merely think, ‘Here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow.'”
- “For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment.”
- “I don’t want to paint lifeless pictures.”
- “I want to paint what I feel.”
- “There are not many different kinds of eyes. There’s only one kind of vision.”
- “It’s the strength of emotion that guides us.”
- “I’ve always been attracted to the changing effects of light.”
- “People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand when it’s simply necessary to love.”
On Nature
- “The richness I achieve comes from nature.”
- “I can only draw what I see.”
- “Water is the mirror of nature.”
- “The light constantly changes, and that alters the atmosphere and beauty of things every minute.”
- “I want to grasp something of the sunlight.”
- “Nature won’t be summoned to order and won’t be shamed into obeying your will.”
- “My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature.”
- “When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you.”
- “It’s not enough to have talent; you also have to work.”
- “Nature itself has become my teacher.”
- “It is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives objects their true value.”
- “The landscapes reflect the mood of the artist.”
- “I am working with all my strength and effort to master the art of depicting nature.”
- “It took me time to understand what nature meant, but now I live, breathe, and think only of it.”
- “The reflections in the water captivated me.”
- “Every day I discover more and more beautiful things.”
- “My greatest pleasure is in seeing the results of nature’s changing moods.”
- “I want to paint the way the water feels, the air vibrates.”
- “You must always see nature for yourself.”
- “I want to paint the breeze, the sun, and the feeling of being in nature.”
On Light and Color
- “Without color, life would be miserable.”
- “I try to forget everything I know when I approach a subject.”
- “To see, we must forget the name of the thing we are looking at.”
- “The effect of the light pleases me more than anything else.”
- “Color must be thought, imagined, and dreamed.”
- “What keeps my heart awake is the silent song of the night.”
- “The color of the water changes constantly. I must be quick to capture it.”
- “Color is what gives meaning to my work.”
- “I don’t see the subject; I see the light.”
- “When you go out to paint, try to capture the light.”
- “I am fascinated by the interplay of light and shadow.”
- “I’m chasing the fleeting moment.”
- “One instant, one aspect of nature contains it all.”
- “For me, the subject is of secondary importance. What I want to reproduce is what lies between the subject and me.”
- “What is color if not life itself?”
- “The harmony of color brings me peace.”
- “Light is the principal person in the picture.”
- “Painting water is always difficult because its appearance changes every second.”
- “I am trying to capture the elusive.”
- “It’s not objects I want to portray, but the atmosphere between them.”
On Hard Work and Perseverance
- “I’ve always been a hard worker.”
- “I owe my success to my struggles.”
- “I am never satisfied.”
- “I never knew I was an artist until I persisted.”
- “Hard work is essential to success in art.”
- “A painting is never finished — it simply stops in interesting places.”
- “I work incessantly and relentlessly.”
- “I paint with great passion and sincerity.”
- “Success comes from dedication.”
- “If you truly love nature, you’ll find beauty everywhere.”
On Life and Passion
- “The world of reality has its limits, but the world of imagination is boundless.”
- “There is nothing more poetic than the truth.”
- “The deeper you go into nature, the more you will discover.”
- “Every day I start anew.”
- “The act of painting is an act of discovery.”
- “Nothing in art should seem accidental.”
- “I believe in the magic of everyday life.”
- “It’s my life’s work to capture the changing world.”
- “In every work of art, you can find a trace of the artist’s soul.”
- “I paint not to replicate nature but to capture its soul.”
On Beauty and Simplicity
- “There’s beauty in simplicity.”
- “I paint flowers so they won’t fade.”
- “The beauty of life is all around us if only we take the time to see it.”
- “The beauty of a moment lasts forever when captured in paint.”
- “You don’t need extravagance to find beauty.”
- “A simple reflection can reveal the universe.”
- “Art must be an expression of love or it is nothing.”
- “Beauty lies in observing the ordinary.”
- “You need to love what you do to truly create something meaningful.”
- “There is an infinite amount of beauty waiting to be discovered.”
On Impressionism
- “Impressionism means taking inspiration from reality, but interpreting it with your feelings.”
- “I am not interested in conventional methods or rules.”
- “My works are an exploration of the fleeting.”
- “The essence of Impressionism is capturing the first impression.”
- “The viewer completes the painting by interpreting its emotions.”
- “We don’t paint what we see; we paint what we feel.”
- “Art isn’t static — it’s alive.”
- “A painting should capture an emotion, not just a view.”
- “Impressionism is about painting the effect of light, not the objects themselves.”
- “Impressionism is the art of finding beauty in the moment.”
These quotes provide a glimpse into Monet’s artistic philosophy, his relationship with nature, and his approach to capturing the ever-changing beauty of the world.