Art can be interpreted in different ways. One could adopt the Kantian approach by placing particular emphasis on the autonomy of art, while still proclaiming that art prescribes its own set of maxims that it itself created. These maxims facilitate the creation of a normative idea of ​​art, where excellence is determined by how well it responds to self-created artistic maxims. The Mona Lisa is therefore only a good painting because it conforms greatly to the maxims of normative art. Another approach would be the Hegelian interpretation that art is the “highest human vocation.” In this way, art shows the normative humanity of human existence in a way that shows the value of human society. However, there is a problem with both sets of interpretations: they are associated with the Enlightenment. This problem turns out to be a fatal flaw, and only with a mixture of the two is it possible to fully understand the art. It is by using this method that the philosophy of Theodore Adorno was able to realize art in all its splendor. Theodore Adorno (1903-1969) was a German philosopher, literary critic and social theorist. He was an influential member of the Frankfurt School, which developed the notion of critical theory. Critical theory is a theory of sociological interpretation. This argued that one was trying to understand “society as a dialectical entity”. He rejects the idea that through empiricism a true interpretation of society can be found. Rather, he suggests that any interpretation of society must be interdisciplinary, taking into account "economics, psychology, history and philosophy." The Frankfurt School would employ critical theory within the framework of Marxist ideology. Considering history as the history of changing modes of production and society as a site of class struggle pari...... middle of paper ......reces: Adorno, Theodor W. Aesthetic theory. Reprint; 1970. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 1997. Secondary sources: Bolaños, Paolo A. “The Critical Role of Art: Adorno Between Utopia and Dystopia.” KRITIKE 1, no. 1 (June 2007): 25-31. Callaghan, Jennefer. Theodore Adorno. Spring 2000. http://english.emory.edu/Bahri/Adorno.html (accessed November 30, 2011). Geuss, Raymond. “Art and Criticism in Adorno’s Aesthetics.” European Journal of Philosophy (Black Well) 6, no. 3 (1998): 297-317. Surber, Jere Paul. Culture and criticism: an introduction to critical discourses in cultural studies. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1998. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Unicorn is found (from the Unicorn Tapestries). 2000-2011. http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/70007564 (accessed November 30, 2011).