Charles Baudelaire

Baudelaire 1844 cropped

Fleurs du mal

Rops Les Epaves 1866

Charles Baudelaire

Jeanne Duval

Charles Baudelaire (April 9, 1821 – August 31, 1867) was a French poet, essayist, art critic, and translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil), expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the 19th century. Baudelaire's work had a profound impact on the next generations of poets, including the Symbolists and the Decadents.

Biography

Charles Pierre Baudelaire was born in Paris, France, in 1821. His father, who was thirty-four years older than his mother, died when Charles was six. His mother then married Lieutenant Colonel Jacques Aupick, which led to a strained relationship between Baudelaire and his stepfather. Baudelaire studied law at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand but was more interested in literature. He began to write poetry at an early age.

In 1842, Baudelaire inherited a large fortune from his father, but he spent much of it within a few years. His lavish lifestyle led to a lifelong struggle with debt, which influenced his writings. Baudelaire became known in the literary circles of Paris and developed a reputation as a dandy and free thinker.

Literary Work

Baudelaire's most significant work, Les Fleurs du mal, was published in 1857. The collection of poems dealt with themes of love, beauty, decadence, and the erotic, challenging the moral, aesthetic, and political sensibilities of the time. This led to an obscenity trial, and six of the poems were banned until 1949. Despite this, Les Fleurs du mal is considered one of the most important works of French poetry, and Baudelaire is credited with coining the term "modernity" (modernité) to designate the fleeting, ephemeral experience of life in an urban metropolis, and the responsibility art has to capture that experience.

Baudelaire's influence on the development of poetry is immense. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Symbolist movement, and his explorations of the complexities of beauty and decadence paved the way for future poets. His translations of Edgar Allan Poe were also significant, introducing Poe's work to a French audience and influencing the symbolist movement in France.

Art Criticism

In addition to his poetry, Baudelaire wrote several essays and reviews on art. He was an early advocate of Richard Wagner and the paintings of Eugène Delacroix. His art criticism introduced the idea that the main goal of modern art was to capture the transient, fleeting qualities of life.

Legacy

Charles Baudelaire died in Paris in 1867, at the age of 46, from complications related to syphilis. Despite his relatively short life and the scandal that surrounded his major work, Baudelaire's influence on literature and the arts has been enduring. He is considered one of the greatest poets of the 19th century, and his ideas on modernity and the role of the artist have influenced a wide range of writers and thinkers.