El Retrato de Dorian Gray / The Picture of Dorian Gray

An inescapable classic. Dorian Gray is immortalized in a portrait by a renowned artist, Basil Hallward. The portrait seems to harbor youth itself within, as if it possessed the power to freeze time and concentrate the beauty and grace of the young man's golden years upon the painted canvas. At this point, the artist thinks and knows that this is his masterpiece-- that this painting represents an absolute turning point in the course of his career, and that Dorian, as his subject, is the cause of this revolution; thus, his art is only capable of existing because of him. From here, a profound reflection unfolds on the motif of the double and the complex relationship that necessarily exists between the artist, the subject depicted, and its representation. As Hallward aptly put it, every portrait painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter, and Wilde's portrait could be no exception. Plagued with the famous quotes that his wit masterfully carved, full of sharp and sinister humor, and driven by an honesty ahead of the hypocrisy of his time, his portrait remains intact to this day.

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on October 16, 1854, in Dublin, Ireland. He was a writer, poet, and playwright considered one of the most prominent dramatists of late Victorian London, famous for his sharp wit, flamboyant style, and defense of aestheticism (art for art's sake).