为艺术而艺术 　　"Artforart'ssake"istheusualEnglishrenditionofaFrenchslogan,fromtheearly19thcentury,''l'artpourl'art'',andexpressesaphilosophythattheintrinsicvalueofart,andtheonly"true"art,isdivorcedfromanydidactic,moralorutilitarianfunction.Suchworksaresometimesdescribedas"autotelic",fromtheGreekautoteles,“completeinitself”,aconceptthathasbeenexpandedtoembrace"inner-directed"or"self-motivated"humanbeings. 　　"L'artpourl'art"(translatedas"artforart'ssake")iscreditedtoThéophileGautier(1811–1872).SomeargueGautierwasnotthefirsttowritethosewords.TheyappearintheworksofVictorCousin,[1]BenjaminConstant,andEdgarAllanPoe.Poearguesinhisessay"ThePoeticPrinciple",that 　　Wehavetakenitintoourheadsthattowriteapoemsimplyforthepoem'ssake[...]andtoacknowledgesuchtohavebeenourdesign,wouldbetoconfessourselvesradicallywantinginthetruepoeticdignityandforce:—butthesimplefactisthatwouldwebutpermitourselvestolookintoourownsoulsweshouldimmediatelytherediscoverthatunderthesunthereneitherexistsnorcanexistanyworkmorethoroughlydignified,moresupremelynoble,thanthisverypoem,thispoemperse,thispoemwhichisapoemandnothingmore,thispoemwrittensolelyforthepoem'ssake.[2] 　　Gautier,however,wasthefirsttoadoptthephraseasaslogan."Artforart'ssake"wasabohemiancreedinthenineteenthcentury,asloganraisedindefianceofthosewho—fromJohnRuskintothemuchlaterCommunistadvocatesofsocialistrealism—thoughtthatthevalueofartwastoservesomemoralordidacticpurpose."Artforart'ssake"affirmedthatartwasvaluableasart,thatartisticpursuitsweretheirownjustificationandthatartdidnotneedmoraljustification—andindeed,wasallowedtobemorallysubversive. 　　Infact,JamesMcNeillWhistlerwrotethefollowinginwhichhediscardedtheaccustomedroleofartintheserviceofthestateorofficialreligion,whichhadadheredtoitspracticesincetheCounter-Reformationofthesixteenthcentury: 　　Artshouldbeindependentofallclaptrap—shouldstandalone[...]andappealtotheartisticsenseofeyeorear,withoutconfoundingthiswithemotionsentirelyforeigntoit,asdevotion,pity,love,patriotismandthelike[3] 　　Suchabrusquedismissalalsoexpressedtheartist'sdistancinghimselffromsentimentalism.AllthatremainsofRomanticisminthisstatementistherelianceontheartist'sowneyeandsensibilityasthearbiter. 　　TheexplicitsloganisassociatedinthehistoryofEnglishartandletterswithWalterPaterandhisfollowersintheAestheticMovement,whichwasself-consciouslyinrebellionagainstVictorianmoralism.ItfirstappearedinEnglishintwoworkspublishedsimultaneouslyin1868:Pater'sreviewofWilliamMorris'spoetryintheWestminsterReviewandinWilliamBlakebyAlgernonCharlesSwinburne.AmodifiedformofPater'sreviewappearedinhisStudiesintheHistoryoftheRenaissance(1873),oneofthemostinfluentialtextsoftheAestheticMovement.