Rabindranath Tagore

In Art, man reveals himself and not his objects. For which reason the question, “What is Art?” can never be finally answered without taking man himself into consideration. When we know what man is, then we shall know what Art is.

Man is not merely a biological phenomenon—he is a personality. What we call Art is the truth of this personality, and the significant fact about it is that it is infinitely more than a mere individual. This fact has been discovered by man from his earliest days, and the truth has been emphasised through all his creations.

The animal has its own bodily equipment, which it can use for its advantage, and which is a complete apparatus in itself. Man also has his biological outfit, but what is unique about him is that he has the power to make his surroundings a part of himself, and through this power, he extends his personality far beyond the boundary of his physical body.

The first principle of Art is that man has pleasure in revealing himself. We call Art that in which man reveals himself and not his objects. For which reason it is difficult to find an exact definition of Art. We may say that it is personality in its self-creative aspect.

When I use the word personality, I do not mean merely the individual. Individual man may be proud, selfish, limited in his outlook. But there is the universal man who is generous, who seeks communion, who delights in self-expression. It is this universal man who reveals himself through Art.

Science deals with what is general, what is common to all. Art deals with what is unique, what is personal, and yet what has universal significance. The scientist seeks laws; the artist seeks freedom in creating forms of beauty. The scientist wants to know the fact; the artist wants to realise the truth.

Man has a feeling that he is truly represented in something which exceeds himself. He is aware that he is greater than the limits of his individual life, and his best joy is in losing his narrower self in the wider self. This has been the inspiration of all great Art.

The child draws and paints, not because he wants to produce something useful, but because he takes joy in creation. This creative joy is the spiritual element in Art. It is not enough that there should be beauty in the environment; the inner spirit of man must respond to it in freedom.

In primitive times, man decorated his tools, his weapons, his dwellings. Why? Not for any utilitarian purpose, but to satisfy his creative instinct, to express his personality. This urge to create, to give form to feeling, to externalise the internal, is the essence of Art.

The work of Art has its being in the heart of the personal man. It is not a mere arrangement of lines and colours, sounds or words. It is the expression of personality in its creative joy. When we feel the touch of the personal man in a work of Art, we recognise it as Art.

Consider music. What is music? Is it merely a combination of notes? No, it is the expression of the inner harmony of the soul. The musician does not merely reproduce sounds that exist in nature; he creates a new world of sound which is the expression of his personality.

Or take poetry. What makes words into poetry? It is not their dictionary meaning, not their logical arrangement, but the personal touch of the poet, his unique vision, his individual music, which transforms common words into Art.

The personality which expresses itself in Art is not the surface personality with its quirks and oddities, but the deeper personality which is in touch with the universal. This is why great Art speaks to all humanity across the barriers of time and space.

There is in man a sense of the infinite, and all Art is an attempt to express this sense of the infinite through finite forms. The artist knows that behind the appearance there is a reality, and he tries to reveal this reality through his Art.

Art, therefore, is not imitation, though it may use imitation as a means. It is not photography, though it may be realistic. It is the expression of the artist’s vision of truth through the medium of beauty. It is personality expressing itself in forms that have universal significance.

Modern civilisation tends to suppress personality. It values efficiency, uniformity, mechanical perfection. But Art stands as a protest against this suppression. It asserts the value of the personal, the individual, the unique. It reminds us that man is not a machine but a creative spirit.

Education in Art is therefore not merely training in technique. It is the cultivation of personality, the development of the creative spirit, the nurturing of the capacity to see beauty and to express it. It is teaching the soul to sing its own song.

When we understand that Art is the expression of personality, we understand why different ages and different cultures produce different forms of Art. Each expresses its own unique vision, its own particular understanding of truth and beauty. And yet, beneath this diversity, there is a unity—the unity of the human spirit seeking to express itself.

The value of Art is not in its market price, not in its popularity, but in its truth—the truth of personality expressing itself in freedom and joy. When we recognise this truth, we recognise the sacredness of Art and its essential place in human life.

Let me conclude by saying that Art is not a luxury for the few but a necessity for all. For it is through Art that man rises above the merely biological, the merely practical, and asserts his spiritual nature. It is through Art that he declares: I am not merely a creature of needs and desires; I am a personality capable of creating beauty and expressing truth.