A Work Of Art Can

I Do Not Paint What I See, But What I Saw.

The Viewers Must Come To Understand The Sacredness Of Painting, So They Will Remove Their Hats As If They Were In Church.

I Was Walking Along A Road One Evening – On One Side Lay The City, And Below Me Was The Fjord. The Sun Went Down – The Clouds Were Stained Red, As If With Blood. I Felt As Though The Whole Of Nature Was Screaming – It Seemed As Though I Could Hear A Scream. I Painted That Picture, Painting The Clouds Like Real Blood. The Colours Screamed.

It Would Be Quite Amusing To Preach A Bit To All Those People Who For Many Years Now Have Been Looking At Our Paintings And Either Laughed Or Shook Their Heads Reproachfully. They Do Not Believe That These Impressions, These Instant Sensations, Could Contain Even The Smallest Grain Of Sanity. If A Tree Is Red Or Blue, Or A Face Is Blue Or Green, They Are Sure That Is Insanity.

Certainly A Chair Can Be Just As Interesting As A Human Being. But First The Chair Must Be Perceived By A Human Being... You Should Not Paint The Chair, But Only What Someone Has Felt About It.