Let’s take a look back on the epic poem Beowulf. One of the greatest things about the work isn't the actual content itself, but the fact that there’s no real face behind it. An orated work (until someone decided that actually writing it in text was a bit more conventional), we really don’t know who the true author, creator, of the poem. Sometimes, we prod too much on the author themselves that the actual message or purpose of the work is lost.
This is a painting of a courtyard of an old residency at Munich. The presentation of the architecture of the building is great (REMINDER: I'M NOT AN ART CRITIC), and the proportions seem, well, pretty proportionate. Without knowing the artist, I would say that he/she had a great eye for art, particularly architecture. The fact that the artist remains a mystery let's us critique the actual work presented itself and not the artist's personal life.
Here's Ender's Game, one of the novels that defined the genre, science fiction. The author, Orson Scott Card, brewed a lot of controversy with his personal affairs. The dude was bigoted and wasn't afraid to show it. A result of that has resulted in tainted analyses.
The idea of separating the creator with his work seems ideal, but isn't as easy as it sounds (yes, there's a slight contradiction to what I just said). It's a push-and-pull thing. Technically, a great analysis would be separating the two. You shouldn't prejudge the actual content and context of the work based on the creator's personal life. Doing so will change your perspective of the work, turning instead into a critique of the face behind the work (not the actual work itself).
PS. Adolf Hitler painted the courtyard of that old residency. It was his dream to become a painter, but failed the entrance exam (his painting's were mediocre; they recommended him to go into architecture instead because of his gift in planning/drawing buildings).
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