Mademoiselle de Maupin is an 1835 French novel written by Théophile Gautier, widely celebrated for its avant-garde exploration of gender identity, bisexuality, and the aesthetic pursuit of pure beauty.

The book is famously preceded by a lengthy, satirical preface that serves as a manifesto for "l'art pour l'art" (Art for Art's Sake). In it, Gautier fiercely attacks critics and moralists, asserting that true art has no obligation to be utilitarian or morally instructive, famously claiming that "everything useful is ugly"