Biographie et fiction : Les Vies imaginaires de Walter Pater

The personality of the artists is very important for Walter Pater in his critical works, because he considers that a singular temperament can provide an explanation of the piece of art. For this reason, the reflection about the individual is present in most of his texts, and especially in his fictional writings, the Imaginary Portraits. The narrative account of oneself is here treated like some virtual lives based on Pater’s own impressions. They show an ethical point of view where art could help us to extend our short life by going deeper into our own sensations