THE+PICTURE+OF+DORIAN+GRAY

importance that was above or separate from any purpose. Theyfound this beaury in nature.Wilde believed in beaury too, but for him, the greatest beautywas not in nature but in art. Art did not need to copy nature orto show people the beaury of nature. Art was important for itself.In this way, Wilde's work was an important bridge between thenineteenth century and the modern age.Wilde also believed that the artist's life was more importantthan the work he produced. He said that the artist's life was hismost important piece of art. It is these ideas that he wrote aboutin The Picture oJ Dorian Cray. But in this story, the artist's beautifulportrait holds a terrible secret and puts people's lives in danger. Itis a story of the love of beaury the worshipping of pleasure andthe corruption of a man's soul. It tells us much about the writerhimself, and its ending is tragic, like the end of Wilde's own life.