Christa Giles

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of the bronze of the image of the Sorrow that endureth for
Ever he fashioned an image of The Pleasure that abideth for
a Moment.˝ 500 The poem is significantly entitled ˝The
Artist.˝ ˝The Moment˝ was primarily addressed both to the
aesthetic sense and artistic temperament and also signified
the promise of intensity, an escape from the sense of
powerlessness in the face of natural decay and paralysing
ennui.
The function of the critic, in the face of
contemporary art was, according to Wilde and Huysmans,
to cultivate his own aesthetic receptivity and to arrive at his
conclusions based on his personal (preferably intense)
impressions and responses. Criticism, in their view,
precludes impartiality ˝Fairness,˝ says Wilde, ˝is not one of
the qualities of the true critic. It is not even a condition of
criticism.˝ 501 For the critic, like the artist, creates initially
from his passions, and passion according to Wilde and
Huysmans is an indispensable precondition of creation:
car l’on n’a pas de talent si l’on n’aime avec
passion ou si l’on ne hait de même;
l’enthousiasme et le mépris sont
indispensables pour créer une oeuvre; le
talent est aux sincères et aux rageurs, non aux
indifférents et aux laches. 502