Mirra Alfassa Quote

I knew a painter, a disciple of Gustave Moreau; he was truly a very fine artist, he knew his work quite well, and then... he was starving, he did not know how to make both ends meet and he used to lament. Then one day, a well-wishing friend sent a picture-dealer to his studio. The latter inspected all his works, without discovering anything of interest: the works of the painter were simply not fashionable and therefore without commercial value. But at last the dealer found a canvas with some palette-scrapings in a dusty corner and was suddenly full of enthusiasm: Here you are! my friend, you are a genius, this is a miracle, it is this you should show! Look at this richness of tones, this variety of forms, and what an imagination.

When she was in Paris she had intimate knowledge of the milieu of Parisian artists, quoted in Paris (1897-1904) and also in Mother India: Monthly Review of Culture, Volume 60 by Sri Aurobindo Ashram ( 2007), p. 131