LXXIII
Do not imitate; do not follow others—you will always be behind them.
Corot.
LXXIV
Never paint a subject unless it calls insistently and distinctly upon your eye and heart.
Corot.
LXXV
I should never paint anything that was not the result of an impression received from the aspect of nature, whether in landscape or figures.
Millet.
LXXVI
You must interpret nature with entire simplicity and according to your personal sentiment, altogether detaching yourself from what you know of the old masters or of contemporaries. Only in this way will you do work of real feeling. I know gifted people who will not avail themselves of their power. Such people seem to me like a billiard-player whose adversary is constantly giving him good openings, but who makes no use of them. I think that if I were playing with that man, I would say, “Very well, then, I will give you no more.” If I were to sit in judgment, I would punish the miserable creatures who squander their natural gifts, and I would turn their hearts to work.
Corot.