Pater, << PAY tuhr, >> Walter (1839-1894), an English essayist and critic, influenced the artistic taste of many English people in the late 1800’s. Pater’s most important and best-known work is the philosophic novel Marius the Epicurean (1885). It tells of a man in ancient Rome who admires beauty for its own sake. The novel was important in establishing the doctrines of aestheticism, the belief that beauty is the most meaningful thing in life. It also expressed the idea that an artist’s sole responsibility is to strive for beauty. Pater’s other notable work is a collection of essays on Renaissance artists, Studies in the History of the Renaissance (1873).
Walter Horatio Pater was born on Aug. 4, 1839, in London. He graduated from Oxford University in 1862. He was elected a fellow (resident teacher) of Brasenose College at Oxford in 1864. The college was the center of his activities for the rest of his life. He began his career as a critic writing essays on art for two famous English magazines—the Fortnightly Review and The Westminster Review. He died on July 30, 1894.
