"The fact that I myself, at the moment of painting, do not understand my own pictures, does not mean that these pictures have no meaning; on the contrary, their meaning is so profound, complex, coheren…"

"At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since."

"The thermometer of success is merely the jealousy of the malcontents."

"I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait."

"For me, love must be ugly, looks must be divine, and death must be beautiful."