If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all.

Beauty is the purgation of superfluities.

Gazing at beautiful things acts on my soul.

I criticise by creation, not by finding fault.

Art lives on constraint and dies of freedom.

I couldn't give you something mediocre even if that's all you asked for.

Sculpture is made by taking away, while painting is made by adding.

Faith in oneself is the best and safest course.

Do not fret, for God did not create us to abandon us.

Art is a shadow of Divine perfection.

Your greatness is measured by your horizons.

The idea is there locked inside. All you have to do is remove the excess stone.

No great work of art is ever finished.

Only God creates. The rest of us just copy.

Perfection is no small thing, but it is made up of small things.

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

I like to convey the idea that art is important in everyday life.

I wish people were all trees and I think I could enjoy them then.

My first memory is of the brightness of light — light all around.