Gustave Courbet

"The expression of beauty is in direct ratio to the power of conception the artist has acquired."

"Beauty, like truth, is relative to the time when one lives and to the individual who can grasp it. The expression of beauty is in direct ratio to the power of conception the artist has acquired."

"Fine art is knowledge made visible."

"I am not one who was born in the custody of wisdom I am one who is fond of olden times and intense in quest of the sacred knowing of the ancients."