"The Critic as Artist" is an essay by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

, containing the most extensive statements of his

aesthetic philosophy Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

. A dialogue in two parts, it is by far the longest one included in his collection of essays titled ''Intentions'' published on 1 May 1891. "The Critic as Artist" is a significantly revised version of articles that first appeared in the July and September 1890 issues of ''

The Nineteenth Century ''The Nineteenth Century'' was a British monthly literary magazine founded in 1877 by James Knowles. It is regarded by historians as 'one of the most important and distinguished monthlies of serious thought in the last quarter of the nineteent ...

'', originally entitled "The True Function and Value of Criticism." The essay is a conversation between its leading voice Gilbert and Ernest, who suggests ideas for Gilbert to reject.

Summary

The essay sets out to collapse the distinction between fine art and criticism cherished by artists and critics such as

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold (academic), Tom Arnold, literary professor, and Willi ...

and

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

- only critical faculty enables any artistic creation at all, while criticism is independent of the object it criticises and not necessarily subject to it. The essay champions a contemplative life to the life of action. According to Gilbert, scientific principle of heredity shows we are never less free, never have more illusions than when we try to act with some conscious aim in mind. Critical contemplation is guided by conscious aesthetic sense as well as by the soul. The soul is wiser than we are, writes Wilde, it is the concentrated racial experience revealed by the imagination. Criticism is above reason, sincerity and fairness; it is necessarily subjective. It is increasingly more to criticism than to creation that future belongs as its subject matter and the need to impose form on chaos constantly increases. It is criticism rather than emotional sympathies, abstract ethics or commercial advantages that would make us cosmopolitan and serve as the basis of peace.The Critic as Artist
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Notes

References

* Wilde, Oscar. "The Decay of Lying" in ''Intentions'' (1891) * Wilde, Oscar, ''Complete Works'' (Collins, 2003) * Josephine M. Guy, ed., ''The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde'', vol. iv (Oxford University Press, 2007)

External links

* * Works by Oscar Wilde 1891 essays Aesthetics essays Works originally published in Nineteenth Century (periodical) {{aesthetics-stub