The art lies in concealing art
All work of art requires skill, labour and genius. A poet or painter is gifted with the creative talent, but he has also got to practise that talent in order to reach a high level of excellence. Nevertheless, the highest standard of art is reached only when it is a spontaneous and effortless creation. A true poet is expected to create poetry as a flower exudes fragrance. Any evidence of pre-meditation, labour or effort detracts from the value and beauty of a work of art. It is in this sense that poets are born, not made, and poetry is the spontaneous overflow of emotions. The ideal is, of course, not always easy to attain, for it requires that even though the artist makes efforts in creating a work of art, he should seem effortless. Thus it is only the highest artists who are able to conceal art, while the ordinary artist is a mere craftsman whose apprenticeship to his art is manifest in every stage of his work.
