Parergon

[9] It is added to a system to augment something lacking such as in the case of ergon (function, task or work), with parergon constituting an internal structural link that makes its unity possible.

[9] Parergon is also described as separate – that it is detached not only from the thing it enframes but also from the outside (the wall where a painting is hung or the space in which the object stands).

[12] According to Kant, this case is like a gilt frame of a painting, a mere attachment to gain approval through its charm and could even detract from the genuine beauty of the art.

[14] In The Truth in Painting, the philosopher likened parergon with the frame, borders, and marks of boundaries, which are capable of "unfixing" any stability so that conceptual oppositions are dismantled.

This is an allegory written as a parergon and was included in the philosopher's main work called Essay on truth, which criticized David Hume, Voltaire, and Thomas Hobbes.

Jacques Derrida explained his interpretation of parergon in The Truth in Painting, associating it with the so-called "great philosophical question, "What is art?". [ 10 ]