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Based on a detailed reconstruction of the debate about the artwork carried out between Adorno and Benjamin in the mid-1930s, this article shows that no matter how deep their disagreement may have been (especially concerning the aura or mechanical reproduction), both theorists share common presuppositions and come to similar conclusions on certain issues. In particular, Benjamin and Adorno both end up being committed to a conception of form that is at odds with formalism as well as “vulgar” materialism: according to them, form is not only the site of artistic invention properly speaking, but also the locus where society makes itself manifest in the artworks.