Art for art's sake

Art for art's sake—the usual English rendering of l'art pour l'art (pronounced [laʁ puʁ laʁ]), a French slogan from the latter half of the 19th century—is a phrase that expresses the philosophy that 'true' art is utterly independent of any and all social values and utilitarian function, be that didactic, moral, or political.^[1] Such works are sometimes described as autotelic (from Greek: autoteles, 'complete in itself'),^[2] a concept that has been expanded to embrace "inner-directed" or "self-motivated" human beings.^[1]

The term is sometimes used commercially. A Latin version of this phrase, ars gratia artis (Classical Latin: [ˈars ˈɡraːtiaː ˈartɪs]), is used as a motto by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appears in the film scroll around the roaring head of Leo the Lion in its iconic motion picture logo.