A Van Gogh painting functions differently for a painter studying brushwork than for a lay viewer forming emotional connection than for an art historian analyzing cultural context. The painter sees method, the viewer experiences meaning, the scholar traces influence, all valid but distinct modes of engagement.

The Romantic revolution completed this transformation, making art primarily about the artist's inner life rather than communal service. The work's value came to rest not in technical excellence or community function but in its capacity to express the artist's unique subjectivity. This created what Agamben calls the "artistic machine", a Borromean k... See more