This collection of 12 essays by the Belgian philosopher and theorist Bart Verschaffel addresses the meaning and relevance of art today. Written over the course of his career, they cover a rich and inventive range of topics: from mockery and laughter to the artwork as a ‘gift’, and from caricature to splendour. This is the first synoptic collection of Verschaffel’s work, with many of the essays translated into English for the first time.