IMPRESSIONISTIC INTERTEXT IN O. WILDE’S NOVEL «THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY»

Abstract

The article explores artistic intertext in Oscar Wilde’s novel «The Picture of Dorian Gray», which is determined by the development of impressionism in European art and literature in the late 19th and early 20th century. «The Picture of Dorian Gray» is a transitional novel which combines traditional and contemporary poetic features, determined by active development of modernism in European art. Having first appeared in late 19th-century French painting, impressionism soon established itself firmly in literature, which is exemplified by O. Wilde’s novel «The Picture of Dorian Gray». Artistic intertext of the novel is defined by the author’s interest for J. Ruskin’s and W. Pater’s ideas, the art of Pre-Raphaelites, impressionist painters’ legacy, and the Japanese art of ukiyo-e which influenced European impressionism. Important role in the novel is played the mention of the iconic exhibition for the Impressionists – Grosvenor (London) and the exhibition of George Petty on Sez Street (Paris), in which, according to the characters, it would be appropriate to exhibit a portrait created by Bаsil Hallward. Being greatly interested in impressionist art, O. Wilde used impressionist poetics in his novel, which manifests itself in portraits, descriptions of nature and urban scenery, allusions and reminiscences to various works of art. This manifests a transition to modernism in the realm of the English novel. Impressionistic intertext in «The Picture of Dorian Gray» has expanded the limits of the structure of the novel, placing an emphasis on subjective impressions and feelings over depiction of external events. Such feelings and impressions, according to O. Wilde, should be captured by the new art.