art for art's sake

English edit

Etymology edit

Calque of French l’art pour l’art, a phrase credited to Théophile Gautier. See the Wikipedia article for more.

Noun edit

art for art's sake (uncountable)

  1. (art, slogan) Art with no function; whose only purpose is beauty.
    Synonym: ars gratia artis

Translations edit

Further reading edit