I enjoyed the four stories that made up Imaginary Portraits so I decided to read a couple of additional “portraits”. “The Child in the House” was published in Macmillan’s Magazine in August 1878. The somewhat autobiographical piece is a look at Florian Deleal’s childhood and what Pater called “the process of our brain-building.” This was […]

“Duke Carl of Rosenmold” Having read this several weeks ago before a vacation break and work overload, I run the risk of leaving out much of what struck me as important or good about this story. While enjoying it, I did feel it was the weakest of the four portraits in the collection. Or at […]

“Sebastian Van Storck” As I read Pater’s Imaginary Portraits and get comfortable with his style and approach, the more I feel like I’m looking at a painting. Everything ties together, although you don’t always realize it at the time…the narrative may not be part of the main subject but it works its way into shaping […]

This post will look at the first two chapters of Imaginary Portraits, a work which can be found here. The use of the word ‘portrait’ in the title of the collection is telling as it feels like Pater creates a written picture, solidifying a relationship between life and art. (The works were individually published in […]