There is a kind of artist who devotes himself only to one art but also displays other talents. A virtuouso of painting, Fernando Zóbel also possessed the gift of words. He had wanted once to become either a scholar or a poet. When he decided on pursuing painting, words continued to be talismans.

So much so that in 1974 he put out a book called Cuaderno de apuntes. Published by Graficas del Sur in Sevilla, the book contains quotations about painting. Collecting them since the 1950s, Zóbel must have used these illuminations by other authors to shed light on his art.

Zóbel eventually arrived at his own illuminations. These he set down in letters, in his journals, and the articles he had written for exhibitions and journals. The quotations that follow are all by him, for the lover of Zóbel 's paintings and for anyone engaged in the labors of art.