The Picture of Dorian Gray 1944

This is Ivan Albright’s ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, made with oil on canvas, which you can see at the Art Institute of Chicago. Albright applied the paint thickly, almost like he was building up layers of decay right on the surface. Look closely, and you'll see every inch of the canvas is worked and reworked, with touches of green, yellow, and brown combining to create an overall sense of sickness, of being unwell. There are areas where you can see the individual brushstrokes and their texture, really emphasizing the materiality of the paint itself. He doesn't hide the evidence of his process. Think about how the character of Dorian Gray hides his aging while his portrait decays. This portrait has none of the smooth surface of conventional portraiture and is all about the body as a site of transformation and corruption. It reminds me of Francis Bacon, who also wasn’t afraid to show the raw, visceral reality of the human form. In both cases, the meaning is always shifting, always open to interpretation.