The Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Slides: 5
The Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray… … and Aestheticism
Aestheticism artistic movement Context Space: Europe Specificity: Aestheticism: England; Symbolism or Decadence: France; Decadentismo: Italy Time: the end of XIX century Core: emphasis of aesthetic values (Beauty), cult of sensations. “Art for art’s sake” Art should not teach or be useful BUT communicate beauty and sensations S. Kierkegaard
The Preface “The artist is the creator of beautiful things" “To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim” “The highest, as the lowest, form of criticism is a mode of autobiography” “All art is at once surface and symbol” “Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril” “All art is quite useless”
The Picture of Dorian Gray Writer: Oscar Wilde Genre: Bildungsroman 1890 Dorian Gray: fascinating young man, model-like character. Lord Henry Wotton: painter, teaches Dorian Gray Walter Pater’s philosophy He starts living with the only purpose of reaching pleasures AIM Reaching eternal youth Picture showing the protagonist’s aging. Ending: consciousness of his acts; scars his picture.
O. Wilde’s Literary Aim Manifesto of Aestheticism. Art should appeal to the senses of the reader. O. Wilde shows his point of view about Art. Life should be a RE-PRESENTATION of Art. Showing different attitudes about life as a concrete comment to the Victorian attitude to life
