The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim.
– Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Preface. The nature and purpose of art is one of the central themes of Wilde’s only novel, as revealed here in its short preface. Wilde believe that artists should create art not for their own fame, but simply to display beauty – art for art’s sake (a French slogan coined in the early 19th century).