--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This idea of art for art's sake is a hoax." description: "\"This idea of art for art's sake is a hoax.\" — Pablo Picasso" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/pablo-picasso-552_art_this-idea-of-art-for-art-s-sake-is-a-hoa_881970.jpg" --- # This idea of art for art's sake is a hoax. ![“This idea of art for art's sake is a hoax.” quote by Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/pablo-picasso-552_art_this-idea-of-art-for-art-s-sake-is-a-hoa_881970.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/pablo-picasso-552_art_this-idea-of-art-for-art-s-sake-is-a-hoa_881970.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/pablo-picasso-552_art_this-idea-of-art-for-art-s-sake-is-a-hoa_881970.jpg) > “This idea of art for art's sake is a hoax.” [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Claiming art for art’s sake is deceptive; art must serve a purpose or convey meaning beyond aesthetic. **In simple terms:** Art should have purpose, not just exist. Key Takeaway Seek meaning in creative work. Themes art criticism purpose meaning Mood analytical critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery curation - art education - creative workshops Key Concepts aestheticism cultural critique intentionality Questions to Reflect On - What purpose does your art serve? - Can art be both beautiful and purposeful? A Different Perspective May dismiss pure aesthetic enjoyment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Hoaxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hoaxes/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) ## Related quotes > [President Obama is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/president-obama-is-the-greatest-hoax-ever-perpetrated-on-the-american/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [Most poetry just confounds me. I really want to like it, but I can't help thinking it's a hoax. (p. 24)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/most-poetry-just-confounds-me-i-really-want-to-like-it-but-i-can-t/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [The story of the Khazar Empire, as it slowly emerges from the past, begins to look like the most cruel hoax which history has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-story-of-the-khazar-empire-as-it-slowly-emerges-from-the-past/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Donald Trump thinks that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese. I think it's real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/donald-trump-thinks-that-climate-change-is-a-hoax-perpetrated-by-the/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [In 1932, lame duck president Herbert Hoover was so desperate to remain in the White House that he dressed up as Eleanor Roosevelt. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/in-1932-lame-duck-president-herbert-hoover-was-so-desperate-to-remain/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [It's all a big hoax, honey. I never wrote a song in my life. I get one-third of the credit for recording it. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/it-s-all-a-big-hoax-honey-i-never-wrote-a-song-in-my-life-i-get-one/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [Though if love was an animal, Garret knew, it would probably be the Loch Ness Monster. If it didn’t exist, that didn’t matter. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/though-if-love-was-an-animal-garret-knew-it-would-probably-be-the/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [Vidal gives the impression of believing that the entire heterosexual edifice - registry offices, 'Romeo and Juliet,' the disposable diaper - is just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/vidal-gives-the-impression-of-believing-that-the-entire-heterosexual/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Donald Trump believes that climate change is a hoax. Now, this is not just a stupid expression, but it is incredibly dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/donald-trump-believes-that-climate-change-is-a-hoax-now-this-is-not/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [The hoax is the very absence of truth, which usually means art is absent, too - hoaxes regularly substitute claims of reality for imagination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/the-hoax-is-the-very-absence-of-truth-which-usually-means-art-is/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [I know climate change is a hoax – of course – but places that have never seen this type of winter weather got hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-know-climate-change-is-a-hoax-of-course-but-places-that-have-never/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [There are some things I don't like, about which I think, well, that's me. But coriander is a giant hoax perpetrated by a perverted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/there-are-some-things-i-don-t-like-about-which-i-think-well-that-s-me/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [As is so often the case with pieces that appear in the 'Onion,' I honestly could not decide whether this was a clever hoax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/as-is-so-often-the-case-with-pieces-that-appear-in-the-onion-i/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [In a secular age, an authentic miracle must purport to be a hoax, in order to gain credit in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/in-a-secular-age-an-authentic-miracle-must-purport-to-be-a-hoax-in/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [Global warming is a total, and very expensive, hoax!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/global-warming-is-a-total-and-very-expensive-hoax/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) ## More by Pablo Picasso > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [By amusing myself with all these games, all this nonsense, all these picture puzzles, I became famous... I am only a public entertainer who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/by-amusing-myself-with-all-these-games-all-this-nonsense-all-these/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [One never knows what one is going to do. One starts a painting and then it becomes something quite different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/one-never-knows-what-one-is-going-to-do-one-starts-a-painting-and/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Now there is fame! Of all - hunger, misery, the incomprehension by the public - fame is by far the worst. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/now-there-is-fame-of-all-hunger-misery-the-incomprehension-by-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [It takes a long time to become young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-takes-a-long-time-to-become-young/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/we-all-know-that-art-is-not-truth-art-is-a-lie-that-makes-us-realize/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [You see these thick curtains shut out the daylight: artificial light suits me a great deal better; it's absolutely steady, and much more exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/you-see-these-thick-curtains-shut-out-the-daylight-artificial-light/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The best calculation is the absence of calculation. Once you have attained a certain level of recognition, others generally figure that when you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-best-calculation-is-the-absence-of-calculation-once-you-have/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Action is the foundational key to all success. --Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/action-is-the-foundational-key-to-all-success-pablo-picasso/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The earth doesn't have a housekeeper to do the dusting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-earth-doesn-t-have-a-housekeeper-to-do-the-dusting/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/god-is-really-only-another-artist-he-invented-the-giraffe-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/a-baby-will-make-love-stronger-days-shorter-nights-longer-bankroll/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Explore all 477 Pablo Picasso quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This idea of art for art's sake is a hoax.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pablo Picasso" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/this-idea-of-art-for-art-s-sake-is-a-hoax/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/this-idea-of-art-for-art-s-sake-is-a-hoax/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/pablo-picasso-552_art_this-idea-of-art-for-art-s-sake-is-a-hoa_881970.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/pablo-picasso-552_art_this-idea-of-art-for-art-s-sake-is-a-hoa_881970.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/pablo-picasso-552_art_this-idea-of-art-for-art-s-sake-is-a-hoa_881970.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This idea of art for art's sake is a hoax.” — Pablo Picasso", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Pablo Picasso", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This idea of art for art's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/this-idea-of-art-for-art-s-sake-is-a-hoax/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/this-idea-of-art-for-art-s-sake-is-a-hoax/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```