Quotations

"The fact that people break down and cry when confronted with my pictures shows that I can communicate those basic human emotions.. the people who weep before my pictures are having the same religious experience I had when painting them. And if you say you are moved only by their color relationships then you miss the point."

— Mark Rothko, Latvian-American painter, born 1903

"Pictures must be miraculous: the instant one is completed, the intimacy between the creation and the creator is ended."

— Mark Rothko, Latvian-American painter, born 1903

"I don't express myself in my paintings. I express my not-self."

— Mark Rothko, Latvian-American painter, born 1903

"There is only one thing I fear in life, my friend: One day, the black will swallow the red."

— Mark Rothko, Latvian-American painter, born 1903

"The artist discards all theories, both his own and those of others. He forgets everything when he is in front of his canvas."

— Georges Rouault, French painter, born 1871

"When I go out into the countryside and see the sun and the green and everything flowering, I say to myself Yes indeed, all that belongs to me."

— Henri Rousseau, French painter, born 1844

"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains."

— Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Genevan philosopher, born 1712

"To be sane in a world of madman is in itself madness."

— Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Genevan philosopher, born 1712

"She was dull, unattractive, couldn't tell the time, count money or tie her own shoe laces. But I loved her."

— Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Genevan philosopher, born 1712

"Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love."

— J.K. Rowlings, British novelist, born 1965

"It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well."

— J.K. Rowlings, British novelist, born 1965

"Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and, therefore, the foundation of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared."

— J.K. Rowlings, British novelist, born 1965

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

— J.K. Rowlings, British novelist, born 1965

"Every line is the perfect length if you don't measure it."

— Marty Rubin, Canadian activist, born 1930