"Imaginary Portraits" by Walter Pater is a series of imaginative stories from the late 1800s, giving life to both real historical people and made-up characters while thinking about art. The stories look at the idea of beauty, how we see things, and what artists mean to the world. One story, "A Prince of Court Painters," shows Antony Watteau's rise from a simple beginning to becoming popular in Paris, mixing his art growth with his problems. The story uses journal entries to show us Watteau's younger days, showing his home in Valenciennes and important events, like fairs and getting help from art lovers. Pater makes Watteau a deep character, talented but troubled, as he goes to Paris, hoping to make his artistic dreams come true. This start sets a thoughtful mood, connecting art, life, and who we are.
Imaginary Portraits
By Walter Pater
Step back in time to witness the lives and creative spirit of artists as they grapple with their ambitions, inner struggles, and the true meaning of beauty.
Summary
About the AuthorWalter Horatio Pater was an English essayist, art and literary critic, and fiction writer, regarded as one of the great stylists. His first and most often reprinted book, Studies in the History of the Renaissance (1873), revised as The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry (1877), in which he outlined his approach to art and advocated an ideal of the intense inner life, was taken by many as a manifesto of Aestheticism.
Walter Horatio Pater was an English essayist, art and literary critic, and fiction writer, regarded as one of the great stylists. His first and most often reprinted book, Studies in the History of the Renaissance (1873), revised as The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry (1877), in which he outlined his approach to art and advocated an ideal of the intense inner life, was taken by many as a manifesto of Aestheticism.
More Like This
Explore books similar to the one you're viewing
More by This Author
Discover other books written by the same author
Related by Category
Discover books in the same genre or category
History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce, 1607a
By John Lothrop Motley
Memoirs of Sir Wemyss Reid 1842-1885
By T. Wemyss (Thomas Wemyss) Reid
The History of Cuba, vol. 3
By Willis Fletcher Johnson
A Woman's Experiences in the Great War
By Louise Mack
Rudyard Kipling
By John Palmer
Uncle Bernac: A Memory of the Empire
By Arthur Conan Doyle