To the artist there is never anything ugly in nature.

Rodin’s remark expresses a core modern artistic attitude: “ugliness” is not an inherent property of the natural world but a judgment shaped by habit, convention, and taste. For the artist, attentive looking reveals form, structure, energy, and expressive truth even in what society labels deformed, ordinary, or unpleasant. The line also reflects Rodin’s sculptural practice—his fascination with irregular bodies, weathered surfaces, and unidealized human anatomy—where vitality and character matter more than classical prettiness. In this view, art is a discipline of perception that converts the overlooked into the meaningful, expanding beauty beyond the merely decorative.