The artist stared at him. ‘Why can’t I look at my own work?’ he asked. I’m going to exhibit
in an art gallery in Paris soon.’
Dorian tried to hide his fear. ‘Bit you said… you told me that you would never
exhibit the picture. Why have you changed your mind? He came closer to Basil and
looked into his face. ‘Tell me why,’ he said. Basil turned away. After a while he said
slowly, ‘I see that you too have noticed something strange about the picture.
Dorian, you changed my life as an artist from the moment when I met you. You
became very important to me – I could not stop thinking about you. And when I
painted this portrait, I felt that I’d put too much of myself into it. I could
not let other people see it.’ He was silent for a moment, then turned back to
Dorian. ‘Perhaps you are right. I cannot exhibit this picture. But will you let
me look at it again?’ ‘No, never!’ The artist smiled sadly. ‘Well, I’ve told you
my secret now. Try to understand me, Dorian You’ve been the one person in my
life who has really influenced my art.’
