Abstract

“Without a theory to go with it, it’s impossible to see an artwork.” This article intends to discuss the provocation posed by Tom Wolfe, investigating the relationship established between art and art criticism in modernity. In fact, we want to suggest this relationship accompanies the transition from a theory of autonomy to the autonomy of Theory and to precisely define what this autonomy consists of. Tom Wolfe's thesis simply put: art itself had become little more than a crutch for art theorists. Art’s purpose had become to illustrate theories. It is our intent to argue that his statement is a symptom of a displacement that took place in early nineteenth-century German romanticism; in fact, this is where Theory conquers its own autonomy. Ever since, those who have occupied themselves of its practice—be they philosophers of art, theoreticians, or critics—seem to have strived for a sole purpose: to extend the privileges thus far granted to Theory. The excesses of the age of Theory would culminate, as we now know, in widespread theses stating the end of art. At last, Theory reveals its most ambitious project in the writings of contemporary analytical philosopher Arthur Danto: his philosophical work, a philosophical discourse about art, offers itself as an artwork in its own right.