Some of our artists were captivated by the external brilliance of the world and eager to capture its golden glow - while others pushed forward to create new visual forms, immersing themselves in a universe of pure shapes and abstractions – while some enriched their paintings with naïve and popular visions or explored the realms of emotional life, dreams, and the inner self life.

Finally, intellectual pursuit, imagination, and the highest expressions of the spirit are not enough to fully definitively characterize French painting. One must also consider simplicity, ineptitude, ignorance, and all the strange elements that lie beneath the surface of what we call naivety. Who knows if naivety is not the highest and most enigmatic gift? It resists analysis and vanishes with every attempt to capture it.

- Jean Cassou, Director of the Museum of Modern Art in Paris