Yes…his painting had quite gone off. It seemed to me to have lost something. It had lost an ideal. When you and he ceased to be great friends, he ceased to be a great artist.
– Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Chapter 19. Lord Henry is discussing the disapperance of Basil with Dorian. He expresses the view that Basil’s art suffered greatly when the once great friendship between Dorian and the artist waned. Basil’s closeness to Dorian had inspired him to produce better art, Henry observes.