"When I returned from the war in 1920, I had a studio rue Caulaincourt looking out over western Paris, Saint-Denis, and Saint-Ouen. Extraordinary light where objects became more intense, like the colored transparency of precious stones. I made a thorough study of the reflections on the objects, and I believe this had a very positive effect on my painting."

---Jean Dufy

In these few sentences, where he speaks about his vocation, he has summarized what was to be his future life: a life centered on painting and guided by the artist's mistress, solitude. Light was the essential focus, and in searching for light he was able to master his fear of the blank canvas. Light became the sacred fire that fueled his drive to express himself as a visual artist.

---Jacques Bailly, reprinted from Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre de Jean Dufy. Volume I, pp. 23-24. (Editions Jacques Bailly. Paris, France. 2002)