"My lord, Because of the great pleasure and devotion that I have put into the execution of the two pieces which his Highness has had me make, being the one where the dead body of Christ is laid in the …"

"I envy the poet. He is encouraged toward drunkenness and wallows with nubile wenches while the painter must endure wretchedness and pain for his art."

"The painter who draws his inspiration from nature, without taking into account the great works of the past, is like a sailor who sets sail without a compass."

"The longer I live, the more I realize that art is a journey, not a destination."

"My greatest ambition is to leave behind a body of work that will inspire future generations."