Art Quotes

Beauty, expression, and the human need to create. Artists and thinkers on why art matters.

21093 quotes

"The preservation of culture requires freedom, not government enforcement of culture."
Friedrich Hayek
J
"Art is not separate from life; it is the language of life."
Jérémie Bentham
J
"The greatest art is the art of making people content with their condition."
Jérémie Bentham
J
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
Johann Tetens
J
"Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth."
Johann Tetens
J
"Art imitates the structure and function of nature."
Julien Offray de La Mettrie
A
"Art elevates the spirit and refines the sensibilities of mankind."
Antonio Genovesi
A
"The greatest monuments are not built of stone, but of ideas."
Antonio Genovesi
J
"The quantity of pleasure being equal, pushpin is as good as poetry."
Jérémie Bentham
J
"The art of economics lies in making a model of the economy as a whole."
John Maynard Keynes
J
"Art is the language of the soul when words prove insufficient."
Johann Tetens
J
"Art holds up a mirror to society and asks uncomfortable questions."
Johann Tetens
J
"Art and beauty emerge from the same mechanical forces as ugliness."
Julien Offray de La Mettrie
J
"The aesthetic sense is rooted in bodily sensation, not ethereal spirit."
Julien Offray de La Mettrie
"Beauty in art emerges not from central decree but from individual creative expression."
Friedrich Hayek
G
"Art is the language of direct perception beyond words."
George Berkeley
J
"Quantity of pleasure being equal, push-pin is as good as poetry."
Jérémie Bentham
A
"True beauty in art lies not in ornament but in the honest expression of human truth."
Antonio Genovesi
A
"The arts refine the human spirit and elevate it above mere animal existence."
Antonio Genovesi
J
"The finest art imitates the mechanisms of nature with precision."
Julien Offray de La Mettrie
J
"Art achieves its greatest power when it aligns with natural principles."
Julien Offray de La Mettrie
J
"Art mirrors the inner workings of the human soul and elevates us beyond mere material existence."
Johann Tetens
J
"Art awakens in us possibilities of feeling and understanding that ordinary life often obscures."
Johann Tetens
A
"Art is the expression of what cannot be said in ordinary language."
Antonio Genovesi
J
"Art is our effort to escape reality."
John Maynard Keynes
G
"Language is the monument of nations"
Giovanni Vico
G
"Art imitates nature but imperfectly"
Giovanni Vico
G
"Art elevates the human condition"
Giovanni Vico
G
"Language is the instrument of human communication and thought."
George Berkeley
G
"Art captures and conveys the insights of the human spirit."
George Berkeley