> I think you’re wrong on this. Humans learn (anything) from teachers. Yes, you can learn much on your own, but the idea of a solo artist learning from books is exceedingly rare.
If you take an art class where a teacher instructs you and tells you to replicate 12 paintings by Van Gogh, I would argue you've learned more from Van Gogh than the teacher, even if he's showing you some physical techniques.
You could masterfully copy the Van Gogh stroke for stroke, but without the understanding behind the composition, intent, and meaning behind the work, I’d argue you learned nothing. Except for how to copy.
The student/teacher interaction is where you learn. Even if you want to only paint in Van Gogh’s style, the back and forth with the teacher is where you actually learn how to apply that style to new works. To explore the meaning behind the stars, etc.
(You could get there solo, but you’d still need to go through the criticism/questioning phase somehow, which is probably best done with an IRL teacher).
If you take an art class where a teacher instructs you and tells you to replicate 12 paintings by Van Gogh, I would argue you've learned more from Van Gogh than the teacher, even if he's showing you some physical techniques.