The Interpretive Key of the Work of Art - La chiave di lettura dell'opera d'arte

This essay investigates the notion of the interpretive key as the decisive element that allows a work of art to become fully comprehensible and appreciable. Conceiving each artwork as a world‑in‑itself, governed by its own internal law, the essay argues that access to such a world requires the acquisition of its unique interpretive key, a mode of engagement that mobilizes attentional, perceptual, emotional, cognitive, and imaginative activities. The conditions for acquiring and employing this key involve both the psychological and cultural readiness of the art appreciator and the contextual circumstances of artistic fruition. From this premise follows the corollary that each work of art admits one—and only one—complete and exhaustive interpretation, while the multiplicity of readings encountered in practice reflects partial or limited engagements with specific levels of the artwork. Extending the concept beyond art, the essay suggests that our aesthetic appreciation of the natural world is likewise mediated by interpretive keys learned through exposure to artistic experience. Ultimately, while a perfectly exhaustive interpretation remains an ideal rarely attainable, the interpretive key emerges as the indispensable instrument for unlocking the specific law of the artwork.