Michelangelo Buonarroti

"Every block of stone has a statue inside it waiting to be freed."

"The world does not lack beautiful things; it lacks the eyes to see them."

"I have become old but have not become wise; I have only become more observant."

"The secret to all artistic achievement is simplicity and grace."

"God gave me the gift to see what others cannot see in the stone."

"The measure of a life is not its length but the work completed."

"To love one's work is to have found the secret to happiness."

"The greatest tragedy is to live without creating something beautiful."

"In creating, we come closest to understanding the creator."

"The artist's struggle with material is the struggle of the soul with existence."

"Beauty is not in the object but in the perception of the viewer."

"The greatest gift is the ability to see the world with fresh eyes."

"The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection."

"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."

"The problem is not the problem. Your attitude about the problem is the problem."

"If you knew how much work went into it, you would not call it genius."

"Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish."

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely."

"I have offended God and mankind because my work wasn't helpful to the human race."

"The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has."

"Perfection is no small thing, but it is composed of trifles."

"A man paints with his brains and not with his hands."

"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."

"The best of artists has that thought alone which is born with us."

"Corporeal beauty is not to be praised for itself, but as a presentation of divine beauty."

"The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection."

"Create your own visual style... let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others."

"I dream my painting and I paint my dream."

"The danger chiefly lies in acting or judging too quickly; in the absence of sufficient deliberation."