Words from Degas

"Illusion of life, not reality itself, is what matters itself."

"...I caught hold of my eyes"

"There is an emptiness that even art cannot fill."

"The heart is an instrument that rusts if not used."

"My idea of genius is a man who finds a hand so lovely, he will shut himself up content only to indicate fingertips." (paraphrased a little)

"It is among the common people that you find grace."

"Artist's make beautiful things without being aware of it."

"Beauty is a mystery. No one knows it anymore, the secret is forgotten and the
recipe lost."

"One sees as one wishes to see"

"The real traveler is the one who never arrives."

Afterthoughts:

Degas cherished the unfinished for its own sake. Because
in art, which is after all illusion, Truth is obvious only in an incomplete
state.