(thanks Nezka for the article recommendation. 🙂

Matter, as Henri saw it, ought to bend, and does in fact bend, to the spirit that inhabits it. In critiquing a painting shown to him by one of his students, Henri wrote, “Paint even the rungs of the model’s chair so a poem could be written about them. Remember that your model is not against space, but in it. … Everything on the canvas, hair, coat, background and chair should help express your idea of the man’s character.”

via The Smart Set: Transcending Matter – February 13, 2013.