Francesco Floritto VB

Basil’s Studio

The scene takes place in the studio of Basil Hallward who is a painter. The scene opens with an interesting description of the setting. The description is made up of words appealing to the five senses. Some examples of this description are; “rich odour of roses”, “heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn”, “tussore-silk”, “murmur of the bees”.

After this accurate introduction, it’s presented to the reader the figure of Lord Henry Wotton. His figure comes to surface through the description that the other characters make of him and not through the description of the narrator. The intelligent reader immediately understands that Lord Wotton perfectly embodies the figure of the Dandy, indeed nothing in his personality is what really seems. Everything he does is accurately prepared and studied, for example from the text the reader is able to notice many evidences of this “the divan on which he was lying, smoking, as was his custom”. That underlines one of the many behaviours he adopts in order to reflect a specific attitude. Consequently, the focus of the narration moved to the centre of the room in which stands a portrait of a beautiful young man already finished and Basil is totally pleasured by it. He had to force himself to realize to have created such a wonderful portrait.

Immediately after Basil’s reaction, also Lord Wotton makes his congratulations to the painter and suggests him to send this picture to an art gallery but Basil seems doubting” I don’t think I shall send it anywhere”.

In conclusion the painter adds that he cannot exhibit his portrait because “I have put too much of myself into it” and this recalls Oscar Wilde’s theory that artists must take the distances from their own art and they have no to be emotionally involved.