Published in 1887, Imaginary Portraits consists of four studies of fictional characters in historical settings. They are notable not only as illustrations of Pater's aesthetic theories but as influential works of literature. The characters include "A Prince of Court Painters," set in Valenciennes in 1701, "Denys L'Auxerrois," from a French town called Auxerre, "Sebastian van Storck," a young man from Holland during its push for independence, and "Duke Carl of Rosenmold," a young Duke who disappeared from the region a century before the narrator's time. As Oscar Wilde wrote, "This is a singularly attractive book. Mr. Pater . . . is at least our greatest artist in prose."

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