Thursday, September 21, 2017

Cover Wars! - The Picture of Dorian Gray

I love some great cover art. I actually will pay an extra dollar for a book that they nailed the artwork on. I mean, you're going to be looking at it for years, so why not? But let's be honest - for every great cover, there are usually more that you just sit there going "why did someone think this was okay?". So, with the help of my friend Google, here are samplings of both the good and the bad for...

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde



The first two covers are interesting for one thing especially - Dorian is depicted as having brown hair, contrary to the book's description of him being a blond. Also interesting that the first cover shows Dorian as an Adonis-figure, laurel wreath and all.



I actually think the cover on the left is a pretty good one. Blond Dorian, two depictions of him (painting vs physical person), with just enough of the picture obscured to have us curious. The second one...well, at least he's blond?


Once again, I'm not entirely against the first cover. I like the "picture in progress" aspect. Once again Dorian is a brunette however, and with the picture actually being a painting, I find the pastel misleading. The second one I find quite amusing. I'm not really sure who these two gentlemen are - is one supposed to be Dorian and the other Henry or Basil? Is it supposed to show that Dorian has two sides to himself? I don't know.


And last, but not least, these two covers. I overall like the first cover, but I do think it's rather amusing that the portrait looks oddly like Albert Einstein. I don't really feel like it is ugly enough to properly fit the description, but as it is an adaptation meant for a young audience, I think it conveys its meaning well enough. The second cover, I actually love. Dorian is first off, blond, and secondly, it shows an older and corrupt figure as well as a beautiful one. I think it is interesting how the beautiful version of Dorian is the one we see framed. This could be to show the before and after of the picture, or SPOILER---------------- the end result of the novel, where things revert to their proper state---------


Images obtained from: 
http://www.politics-prose.com/book/9780674066311
http://www.pagepulp.com/2021/many-covers-of-the-picture-of-dorian-gray/
http://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/The-Picture-of-Dorian-Gray/Oscar-Wilde/9781625587534
http://www.pulptheclassics.com/index1.php?imprint=8&isbn=9781843441847
http://universitybookstore.tumblr.com/post/103078201900/the-many-pictures-and-book-covers-of-dorian
http://www.paperbackswap.com/Picture-Dorian-Gray-Great-Illustrated/book/0866119981/
https://1001bookreviews.com/2012/03/12/the-picture-of-dorian-gray-oscar-wilde/
https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14877839W/Le_portrait_de_Dorian_Gray



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What are your thoughts? What covers did you like the best? 

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