The quotations of

Oscar Wilde

Irish poet, playwright, and aesthete

1854–1900

173 quotes, most often on Marriage, Love and Comedy. Part of the Writers and Poets collections.

All art is quite useless.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)In context
- Art
The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), The PrefaceIn context
- Art
The nineteenth century dislike of realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass.
The nineteenth century dislike of romanticism is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), The PrefaceIn context
- Art
All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), The PrefaceIn context
- Art
Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), Chapter IIn context
- Art
The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things.
The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), The PrefaceIn context
- Art
The moral life of man forms part of the subject-matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), The PrefaceIn context
- Art
- Morality
No artist desires to prove anything. Even things that are true can be proved.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), The PrefaceIn context
- Art
- Truth & Lies

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