Rembrandt van Rijn

"The self-portrait is the closest I can come to brutal honesty."

"What society calls madness, the artist calls necessary vision."

"To love is to render someone immortal on canvas."

"I have painted my own struggle more than any other subject."

"The world will not understand until your eyes are closed forever."

"In darkness and poverty, I found my richest subjects."

"A single line can contain the weight of a thousand experiences."

"Forgiveness is the greatest strength a fallen man can possess."

"The face is a landscape of the soul's geography."

"To render light, one must first master darkness."

"I am not interested in making the beautiful; I am interested in making the true."

"Every person I painted was, in some way, myself."

"The burden of genius is that the world rarely recognizes it in one's lifetime."

"I have learned that comfort is the enemy of growth."

"To be human is to be imperfect, and thus, endlessly artistic."

"The hand follows what the heart understands."

"In the Bible and in human faces, I found the same eternal story."

"What appears as chaos in my work is actually carefully orchestrated order."

"The greatest act of rebellion is to remain true to your vision when the world objects."

"I have painted myself more than a hundred times because I am my most honest model."

"To judge art by the market is to judge music by silence."

"Every brushstroke is a prayer spoken in pigment."

"The artist who seeks approval will never find authentic expression."

"I learned that wealth is not money but understanding."

"The old age I paint is more beautiful than the youth others render."

"To love deeply is to accept the inevitability of loss."

"The canvas forgives nothing; it reveals everything."

"I have walked through valleys so dark that the light I found has never left me."

"The body ages, but the eyes—the eyes remain eternally young."

"To create without expectation of reward is to touch the divine."