What makes art wonderful is that it is absolutely indifferent to fact. Art invents, imagines, dreams, and keeps between herself and reality the impenetrable barrier of beautiful style, of decorative or ideal treatment. Wilde was at the height of his form when these brilliant essays on art, literature, criticism, and society were released. A leading spokesman for the English Aesthetic movement, Wilde promoted art for art's sake against critics who argued that art must serve a moral purpose.
