Ars Gratia Artis, What does this Latin phrase translate as?
By nannacroc
@nannacroc (4049)
4 responses
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
29 Nov 06
It means, in Latin, 'Art for Art's sake' and is a translation of Baudelaire's 'L'art pour l'art'. It's used as the motto for Metro Goldwyn-Meyer.
I looked in vain (but perhaps not hard enough) for the literal meaning. 'Gratia' means, variously, 'grace' or 'thanks', I think. 'Deo gratia' means 'by the grace of God', so I think, literally, it would mean 'Art by grace of art'. But I think most people cannot now remember what 'grace' means in this context!
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@nannacroc (4049)
•
29 Nov 06
Thanks for a really informative answer. I sort of knew you'd come up trumps.
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@nannacroc (4049)
•
29 Nov 06
Thank you, I had a vague idea that was the answer but was not sure.
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