--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tagore once said, art has to be…" description: "\"Tagore once said, art has to be beautiful. But before that, it has to be truthful.\" — Ritwik Ghatak" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/ritwik-ghatak-72379_art_tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful_620286.jpg" --- # Tagore once said, art has to be beautiful. But before… ![“Tagore once said, art has to be beautiful. But before that, it has to be truthful.” quote by Ritwik Ghatak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/ritwik-ghatak-72379_art_tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful_620286.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/ritwik-ghatak-72379_art_tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful_620286.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/ritwik-ghatak-72379_art_tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful_620286.jpg) > “Tagore once said, art has to be beautiful. But before that, it has to be truthful.” [Ritwik Ghatak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritwik-ghatak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art must first convey truth before it can be beautiful; authenticity precedes aesthetics. **In simple terms:** Truth before beauty in art. Key Takeaway Prioritize honesty in creative work. Themes art truth beauty Mood contemplative critical Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - painting - filmmaking - writing - design Key Concepts authenticity aesthetic theory Questions to Reflect On - How does truth influence your artistic choices? - Can beauty ever be truthful? A Different Perspective Beauty can still be compelling without full truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-beautiful-595503/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beautiful Truthful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-truthful-5019780/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Being truthful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-truthful/) [Filmmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filmmaker/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Said Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-art-2167928/) [Screenwriters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screenwriters/) [Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tagore/) [Tagore Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tagore-said-5019781/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truthful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truthful/) [Wise man once said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-man-once-said/) ## Related quotes > [Tagore once said- art has to be beautiful, but before that, it has to be truthful. Now, what is truth? There is no eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritwik-ghatak/tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful-but-before-that-it-has-to-be-2/) [Ritwik Ghatak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritwik-ghatak/) > [God is love, I said, but art's the possibility of forms, and shadows are the source of identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/god-is-love-i-said-but-art-s-the-possibility-of-forms-and-shadows-are/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Who was it who’d said that all art was completely useless? Jimmy couldn’t recall, but hooray for him, whoever he was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/who-was-it-who-d-said-that-all-art-was-completely-useless-jimmy/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [People criticized me for my photography. They said it's not art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/people-criticized-me-for-my-photography-they-said-it-s-not-art/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [“Art is dead. Art is dead. Art is dead. Art is dead. Entertainers like to seem complicated But we're not complicated I can explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/art-is-dead-art-is-dead-art-is-dead-art-is-dead-entertainers-like-to/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) > [“I suppose it has been said that art sometimes benefits from a touch of madness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/i-suppose-it-has-been-said-that-art-sometimes-benefits-from-a-touch/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [I was asked in 1969 by Lucy Lippard to define art. I think at the time I said that art was a matter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-shafrazi/i-was-asked-in-1969-by-lucy-lippard-to-define-art-i-think-at-the-time/) [Tony Shafrazi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-shafrazi/) > [Pablo Picasso said, "Art is the lie that tells the truth," and it's not a terribly radical statement. It's always been that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/momus/pablo-picasso-said-art-is-the-lie-that-tells-the-truth-and-it-s-not-a/) [Momus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/momus/) > [“Finn said art isn't about drawing or painting a perfect bowl of fruit. It's about ideas. And you, he said, have enough good ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/finn-said-art-isn-t-about-drawing-or-painting-a-perfect-bowl-of-fruit/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [The character of the artist doesn't enter into the nature of the art. Eliot said that art is the escape from personality, which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-character-of-the-artist-doesn-t-enter-into-the-nature-of-the-art-2/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [“Later he would say that the Church led him to God, and LSD led him to universe. He also said that art led him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/later-he-would-say-that-the-church-led-him-to-god-and-lsd-led-him-to/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [But who said art has to cost money? And therefore, who says artists have to make money?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/but-who-said-art-has-to-cost-money-and-therefore-who-says-artists/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [“...I know Shakespeare said art is holding up a mirror to nature- but you're actually bending and refracting it through your interior dialogue ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/i-know-shakespeare-said-art-is-holding-up-a-mirror-to-nature-but-you/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“However my mother had once said, ‘When you go to art school, you’ll find everybody sitting around practicing how to do their signature'; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-williams/however-my-mother-had-once-said-when-you-go-to-art-school-you-ll-find/) [Richard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-williams/) > [I have heard it said There is an art which in their piedness shares With great creating nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-have-heard-it-said-there-is-an-art-which-in-their-piedness-shares/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Ritwik Ghatak > [Tagore once said- art has to be beautiful, but before that, it has to be truthful. Now, what is truth? There is no eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritwik-ghatak/tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful-but-before-that-it-has-to-be-2/) [Ritwik Ghatak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritwik-ghatak/) > [Film is not a form, it has forms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritwik-ghatak/film-is-not-a-form-it-has-forms/) [Ritwik Ghatak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritwik-ghatak/) > [Civilisation never dies, it may change, but it is eternal. Where the paddy field is born on the dry river bed of Titash, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritwik-ghatak/civilisation-never-dies-it-may-change-but-it-is-eternal-where-the/) [Ritwik Ghatak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritwik-ghatak/) [Explore all 4 Ritwik Ghatak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritwik-ghatak/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Tagore once said, art has to be beautiful. But before that, it has to be truthful.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ritwik Ghatak" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritwik-ghatak/tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful-but-before-that-it-has-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritwik-ghatak/tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful-but-before-that-it-has-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/ritwik-ghatak-72379_art_tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful_620286.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/ritwik-ghatak-72379_art_tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful_620286.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/ritwik-ghatak-72379_art_tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful_620286.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tagore once said, art has to be beautiful. But before that, it has to be truthful.” — Ritwik Ghatak", "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": "Ritwik Ghatak", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritwik-ghatak/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Tagore once said, art has to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritwik-ghatak/tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful-but-before-that-it-has-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritwik-ghatak/tagore-once-said-art-has-to-be-beautiful-but-before-that-it-has-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```