"I am forced to transpose until finally my picture may seem completely changed when, after successive modifications, the red has succeeded the green as the dominant color. I cannot copy nature in a servile way, I must interpret nature and submit it to the spirit of the picture – when I have found the relationship of all the tones the result must be a living harmony of tones, a harmony not unlike that of a musical composition"
Henri Matisse

January 1, 1970

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Original Language: English

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https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse