Connecting to Key Ideas of Art, Beauty, and

Spectatorship in Oscar Wilde’s

The Picture of Dorian Gray

“It is the spectator, and not life, that art

really mirrors”

“To reveal art and conceal the artist is

art’s aim”

Art Interpretation Activity: Assume your Role as a Spectator of

Art!

Interpret this Painting:

What do you see when you look at this painting? Does this painting impact you emotionally? What do you think was the

artist’s purpose? What do you think is the message that the artist intended with this

piece?

Interpret this Painting:

What do you see when you look at this painting? Does this painting impact you emotionally? What do you think was the

artist’s purpose? What do you think is the message that the artist intended with this

piece?

Interpret this Painting

What do you see when you look at this painting? Does this painting impact you emotionally? What do you think was the

artist’s purpose? What do you think is the message that the artist intended with this

piece?

Interpret this Painting

What do you see when you look at this painting? Does this painting impact you emotionally? What do you think was the

artist’s purpose? What do you think is the message that the artist intended with this

piece?

Interpret this Painting

What do you see when you look at this painting? Does this painting impact you emotionally? What do you think was the artist’s purpose? What do

you think is the message that the artist intended with this piece?

Interpret this Painting

What do you see when you look at this painting? Does this painting impact you emotionally? What do you think was the artist’s purpose?

What do you think is the message that the artist intended with this piece?

Interpret this Painting

What do you see when you look at this painting? Does this painting impact you emotionally? What do you think was the

artist’s purpose? What do you think is the message that the artist intended with this

piece?

Interpret this Painting

What do you see when you look at this painting? Does this painting impact you emotionally? What do you think was the

artist’s purpose? What do you think is the message that the artist intended with this

piece?

Any reflections on your role as a spectator?

How can art be interpreted differently by different spectators?

When looking at a piece of art, do the artist’s intentions or purpose matter to you? Why or why not?

The Paintings Uncovered…

1.Georges Braques: “Bottle and Fishes”

2.Henri Matisse: “The Green Stripe”3.Salvador Dali: “Persistence of

Time”4.Mark Rothko: “Red, Orange, Tan,

and Purple”5.Jackson Pollock: “Number 8”6.Henri Matisse: “Harmony in Red”7.Wassily Kandinsky: “Transyerse

Line”8. Pablo Picasso: “Guernica”