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Why can two critics reach different conclusions about the same artwork?

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Painting by Gustave Courbet showing the artist at his easel in a crowded studio, surrounded by figures including a nude model, onlookers, and a child with a white dog. — Art criticism *The Painter's Studio*, oil on canvas by Gustave Courbet, 1854–55, in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France.

Critics often reach different conclusions about the same artwork because art criticism is a subjective, interpretive discipline rather than an objective science. While critics may strive for scholarly analysis, their evaluations are inevitably influenced by several personal and theoretical factors:12

Theoretical Perspectives: Critics often operate from specific frameworks—such as feminism, Marxism, or psychoanalysis—which shape how they perceive and value an object. A critic’s choice of theory can prioritize social concerns, formal aesthetics, or emotional depth, leading to divergent interpretations.12
Subjective Affinities: As noted by Charles Baudelaire, criticism is often "partisan" and "passionate". A critic’s personal interests, cognitive biases, and perceptions of social needs influence their judgment.1
Interpretive Approaches: Critics differ on whether to prioritize the work in isolation or within its broader context. For instance, some focus strictly on the aesthetic object, while others incorporate the artist’s biography, historical setting, or intentions. Debates over the intentional fallacy—whether an artist's stated intent should dictate a work's meaning—frequently lead to conflicting conclusions.34
Historical Context: Every work exists within a social and historical "horizon of expectation," and a critic’s response depends on how much the art conforms to or subverts those conditioned expectations.1