Art in The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay

The Purpose of Art as a Mirror

It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors(4). The Beginning of Oscar Wildes book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is filled with oxymorons and other statements meant to give an insight on the ideas of art and the spectator. Basil, the artists, creates a portrait of the seeming perfect Dorian Gray. Dorian has a very unique relationship with the portrait, whenever he experiences a certain emotion, the portrait also changed as well. Just as the beginning quote states, the portrait acts as a mirror, and either copies his life or his own emotions. Throughout the novel, the author intends to prove that art mirrors the spectator. The spectator is able to see part of himself in the art or the literal meaning portrayed in the novel. All of the transformations of Dorian throughout the novel are portrayed in the portrait.

In the start of the novel, Basil paints a wonderful portrait of Dorian, it captures the image of him perfectly. Dorian immediate falls in love with it and begins to envy it as well: If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that--for that--I would give everythingI would give my soul for that(25)! Although he did not recognize it then, he gave his soul to the portrait to forever remain perfect. Right now he is jealous of the picture because of its eternal youth, and he takes the picture and refuses to have it put in an exhibition. The portrait belongs to him and he is the only one who can see its beauty. This supports the idea that it is the spectator at the art mirrors, since Dorian is the only person who can ever see the picture and how it changes. He begins to have immense jealously for the portrait: How said it is! How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. It will never be older than this particular day of June(27-28). After this point he trades his soul for the paintings youth and brilliance.

Next Dorian goes to the play, to show off his love, Sybil Vane, to Lord Henry. When he first met her, her acting was amazing and he fell in love with that. After he went to her play her acting was horrible. She didnt have any feel for emotion in the play, and he reason was because she was now in love with Dorian instead of her acting. He told her that she was worthless to him now, because he was no longer able to be proud of her. She starts crying and realizes she no longer has a reason to live. Once Dorian reaches his home he glances at the portrait and notices something different. He takes a second look and realizes that the actual portrait is very different. Finally he come back, went over to the picture, and examined it. In the dim arrested light that struggled through the cream-coloured silk blinds, the face appeared to him to be a little changed. The expression looked different. One would have said that there was a touch of cruelty in the mouth(87). Dorian did not realize what he was seeing, he turned on all of the lights, checked the painting again, meanwhile the painting still had a cruel expression on its face. The painting is expressing the emotions that Dorian felt right when he realized he was no longer in love with Sybil Vane. Also I believe that the painting had the emotions he was going to have once he was told that Sybil Vane died. The supports the idea that once Dorians emotion changes so does the portraits emotion changes. The portrait seems to be more in touch with the world than Dorian is, Dorian goes to check the portrait again, but: No; there was no further change in the picture. It had received the news of Sibyl Vanes death before he had known of it himself(101).

The last time that Dorian saw the portrait he realized that now that the creator was dead its masterpiece should die as well. He looked round and saw the knife that had stabbed Basil Hallward. He had cleaned it many times, till there was no stain left upon it. It was bright, and glistened. As it had killed the painter, so it would kill the painter's work, and all that that meant. It would kill the past, and when that was dead, he would be free. It would kill this monstrous soul-life, and without its hideous warnings, he would be at peace. He seized the thing, and stabbed the picture with it. There was a cry heard, and a crash(212). Once he stabbed the picture he immediately died as well, on the floor was an old man, approximately of Dorians age. With this final act of stabbing the picture he committed suicide, with all of the pressure of the real world and the hardships that he had endured.

Dorian Gray, is living proof that art mirrors the spectator, he was the only person who was able to see the painting for such a long time and he become attached it to. He gave his soul for the painting in turn to have all the eternal qualities that it had. The novel proves the idea stated in the preface that, It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors(4). Dorians portrait was the equivalent to his mirror on the wall, which depicted his future life for him.