[gruseom]

The medieval artists who never signed their work would agree with you. However, our (= the modern West's) understanding of art as a form of self-expression makes the two, art and artist, inseparable.

Forgive the shallow speculation, but I can't help wondering if there's a link between your comment and the Indian background suggested by your user name. My point is that different cultures understand art differently, as they understand self differently. But I'd also bet that the modern West's conception of these things is spreading pretty rapidly everywhere. There's no modern counterpoint to it yet, only traditional ones. Probably there will be eventually.