the role of the aesthete

Whenever we talk about seeing in regard to art, what we really refer to is the critical eye.

"The aesthete is expert at recording and judging sensations. He perceives more in the universe and makes finer distinctions than the common creature. In works of art, which are bound to be difficult if they are genuinely art, he sees everything where the rest see nothing. Two things follow: art needs a critic to interpret it for public appreciation and the critic must be as gifted as the artist to see deeply and justly into the work. Hence a piece of true criticism is a work of art."

Jacques Barzun, From Dawn To Decadence