In 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', who paints Dorian's portrait?

Basil Hallward paints Dorian Gray's portrait in Oscar Wilde's novel 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'. Basil is a talented English artist whose fascination with Dorian's youthful beauty inspires him to create the portrait that drives the story's supernatural premise.

Basil's painting becomes the focus of a bargain-like transformation: Dorian remains outwardly young while the portrait records the moral corruption caused by his selfish choices. The picture therefore functions as more than a magical object; it becomes a visual record of conscience, guilt, and the consequences of pursuing pleasure without restraint.

Basil is sometimes confused with Lord Henry Wotton, who influences Dorian through his provocative philosophy of hedonism but does not paint the picture. Dorian himself is the subject, not the artist, while James Vane is a character connected to Sibyl Vane's past. Wilde's novel first appeared in book form in 1891 after an earlier magazine publication, and its themes helped make it a classic of Gothic and decadent literature.