“The true poet is he who can give to common things an uncommon beauty.”

Celebrating the transformation of ordinary experience through poetry · Critical remark, as commonly attributed

• Beauty
• Nature
• Poetry

“A work of art is beautiful when it expresses the deepest truth of the human soul.”

Linking aesthetic beauty with inner truth · Prose statement, as commonly attributed

• Art
• Beauty
• Truth

“The artist’s function is to create beauty, and to leave the interpretation of it to others.”

Emphasising artistic creation over explanatory commentary · Prose statement, as commonly attributed

• Art
• Beauty

“The purpose of art is not to copy nature, but to create a beautiful equivalent.”

Distinguishing artistic creation from simple imitation · Artistic statement, as commonly attributed

• Art
• Beauty
• Nature

“The only thing that justifies the existence of a work of art is that it should be beautiful.”

Treating beauty as art’s essential justification · Prose statement, commonly attributed to Rossetti

• Art
• Beauty