That splendid, head, in which everything is said that can be said; col — Matthijs Maris

"Last year I asked too much of my strength. I cant go on like this. it was not possible for me, I had to step back, I didnt make anything but stones [about his paintings?] ... They wanted to see beautiful paintings but I still couldnt make them, one illusion disappears for the other. I have made Cold reality, and I have made Truth. Is there a truth, also the cold reality is a truth. What exists between them was [only] baroque convention. I threw away everything in the stove.. .I am messing up my time with them; what is nothing more than material is no art to me; I could not bring it out.. (translation from original Dutch, Fons Heijnsbroek, 2018)"

"My brother Jaap was born as a painter, which means he really enjoyed it. (translation from original Dutch, Fons Heijnsbroek, 2018)"

"Besides (and I now quote the artists own words) I never put a bullet in my gun, but only pretended, to do so!"

"Matthijs started with the left eye, which - since he painted the portrait à trois quarts - is about the center of the bud. The [left] eye finished, he started to paint around it the details of forehead, nose, the right eye, the mouth, etc.. ..until he finally enclosed all of these with the contour of the head and the light-brown background. (translation from original Dutch, Fons Heijnsbroek, 2018)"

"He is the painter of the border land between the seen and the unseen world."

"Thijs, Thijs, you came to a people [of Paris], when they were doing well, now you must help them, when they are in distress. (translation from original Dutch, Fons Heijnsbroek, 2018)"