• "Nature is a dictionary; one draws words from it".
• "on Rubens... Glory to that Homer of painting, to that father of warmth and enthusiasm... he really paints men".
• "on Titian... There is a man whose qualities can be savored by people who are getting old... The painter qualities are carried to the highest point in his work: what he does is done - through and through; when he paints eyes, they are lit with the fire of life".