Art Quotes

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

21093 quotes

A
"Art without truth is decoration; truth without art is merely documentation."
Almeida Garrett
E
"Art exists because reality is unbearable."
Eça de Queirós
E
"Art is the scream of those who cannot speak."
Eça de Queirós
A
"Art is the language that transcends all boundaries of nation and time."
Alexandre Herculano
A
"To create beauty in a world of pain is the noblest of all human endeavors."
Alexandre Herculano
F
"Art is the reconstitution of things as they are."
Fernando Pessoa
F
"The best way to understand ourselves is through art."
Fernando Pessoa
F
"All art is a kind of confession."
Fernando Pessoa
F
"The only way to truth is through art."
Fernando Pessoa
F
"Art is the language of the soul."
Fernando Pessoa
J
"Art is the expression of what society forbids us to speak."
José María de Eça de Queirós
J
"Art is the lie that makes us realize truth."
José María de Eça de Queirós
J
"Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth."
John Banville
J
"Art imitates life, life imitates art."
John Banville
E
"Art imitates life, but life is far more absurd than any art."
Eça de Queirós
S
"Art is the only honest lie we allow ourselves."
Saramago
L
"Art is the soul's conversation with the infinite."
Luís de Camões
L
"The artist who does not challenge convention serves only habit."
Luís de Camões
J
"Art is the only true rebellion against the mediocrity of existence."
José María de Eça de Queirós
F
"Art is the reconstitution of things as they might be rather than as they are."
Fernando Pessoa
F
"Mountains are poetry and beauty are the best company."
Fernando Pessoa
A
"A poesia é a linguagem do coração que a razão não consegue expressar."
Almeida Garrett
P
"Art is the expression of what words cannot contain."
Padraig Colum
P
"Art touches something sacred in the human spirit."
Padraig Colum
J
"Art doesn't imitate life; it interprets it."
John Banville
J
"Art is the space where meaning fails and begins again."
John Banville
J
"Art exists in the space between intention and accident."
John Banville
L
"The artist's hand channels the dreams of the divine through earthly form."
Luís de Camões
E
"Art is the mirror held up to show society what it truly is."
Eça de Queirós
E
"Art is the language of those who cannot speak to power directly."
Eça de Queirós