The Painter Reveals Himself

The Picture of Dorian Gray

"Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion. It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself." (Wilde, 9)

The artist, Basil Hallward, is afraid to exhibit his work because he feels that he has put too much of himself into the painting. As someone who has always written, I have also experienced this feeling. It is difficult to allow other people to read, or in this case view, a personal piece of work for fear of criticism. What makes this quote great is that people usually try to relate to the art around them and look for pieces of themselves in the words or characters. Most people fail to notice that each work of art is an expression of the person who creates it. The artist is fearful of any person who stumbles across their work and their judgement. They need only realize that other people are busy trying to relate the art to themselves to notice what the artwork might be saying about the artist.

"Poets are not so scrupulous as you are. They know how useful passion is for publication. Nowadays a broken heart will run to many editions." (Wilde, 15)

This is Henry Wotton's response to the earlier quote by his friend Basil. The smart artist, the one who is looking to make a living off of their art, is quick to use their own emotions as raw materials in their work. I do think that it takes a strong person to write about ideas or feelings that are meaningful to them and display them for other people to see. The best art is that which is true and allows the reader into the artist's mind. Memiors and autobiographies are popular for this reason, but a novel can be just as revealing about the artist. It might not be a story of their life but real feelings have to come from somewhere inside the artist. People respond to these emotions in art, they can relate to them. All art will seem more powerful when we realize that it was created by someone with feelings similar to our own. It is not always made for us, it is an expression of the artist.