Charles Baudelaire

Home > ... > Literature and the Arts > Literature in Other Modern Languages > French Literature: Biographies > ...

Essential
reading

Compare
side-by-side

The Oxford Dictionary of Art

The Concise Oxford Dictionary ...

The Columbia Encyclopedia, ...

Charles Baudelaire

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Charles Baudelaire , 1821-67, French poet and critic. His poetry, classical in form, introduced symbolism (see symbolists ) by establishing symbolic correspondences among sensory images (e.g., colors, sounds, scents). The only volume of his poems published in his lifetime, Les Fleurs du mal (1857, enlarged 1861, 1868; several Eng. tr., The Flowers of Evil ), was publicly condemned as obscene, and six of the poems were suppressed. Later recognized as a masterpiece, the volume is especially remarkable for the brilliant phrasing, rhythm, and expressiveness of its lyrics. Baudelaire's erratic personality was marked by moodiness, rebelliousness, and an intense religious mysticism. His life was burdened with debts, misunderstanding, illness, and excesses, and his work unremittingly reflects inner despair. The main theme is the inseparable nature of beauty and corruption. A collection of poetic prose pieces was published posthumously as Petits poèmes en prose (1869). As poet and critic Baudelaire earned distinction in literary circles. Believing criticism to be a function of the poet, he wrote perceptive appraisals of his contemporaries. His criticism was collected posthumously in Curiosités esthétiques (1868) and L'Art romantique (1869). He felt a great affinity to Poe, whose works he translated and brought to the attention of the French public. One of the great figures of French literature, Baudelaire has also been a major influence in other Western poetry.

Bibliography: See his letters (tr. by S. Morini and F. Tuten, 1970), his intimate journal (tr. by C. Isherwood, 1947), and selected letters (tr. and ed. by L. B. and F. E. Hyslop, 1957); biography by E. Starkie (rev. ed. 1958), studies by J.-P. Sartre (1950, repr. 1972) and M. A. Ruff (1965).

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-Baudelai" title="Facts and informations about Charles Baudelaire">Charles Baudelaire</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Charles Baudelaire." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Jul. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Charles Baudelaire." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (July 9, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Baudelai.html

"Charles Baudelaire." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved July 09, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Baudelai.html

Learn more about citation styles

Baudelaire, Charles

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists | 2003 | | © The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists 2003, originally published by Oxford University Press 2003. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Baudelaire, Charles (1821–67). French poet and critic. As well as being a major poet, Baudelaire was one of the liveliest art critics of his day, passionate and partisan in his views. He thought that there are no universal aesthetic standards, but a different type of beauty for different peoples and cultures. Moreover, the individuality of the artist is essential to the creation of beauty and if it is suppressed or regimented, art becomes banal: ‘the beautiful is always bizarre’ was a favourite maxim. His favourite contemporary artist was Delacroix, whom he extolled for his imagination, intelligence, and technical skills. However, he singled out the relatively minor artist Constantin Guys as the representative par excellence of contemporary society, and wrote a long appreciation of his work entitled ‘Le Peintre de la vie moderne’, published as a series of articles in Le Figaro in 1863. The other artists with whom Baudelaire was involved include Courbet (he is one of the people depicted in The Painter's Studio (1854–5, Mus. d'Orsay, Paris) ), Manet (he likewise appears in Music in the Tuileries Gardens (1863, NG, London)), and Rops, whose career he helped to launch. His writings later had great influence on the Symbolists.

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O3-BaudelaireCharles" title="Facts and informations about Charles Baudelaire">Charles Baudelaire</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

IAN CHILVERS. "Baudelaire, Charles." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Jul. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

IAN CHILVERS. "Baudelaire, Charles." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (July 9, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-BaudelaireCharles.html

IAN CHILVERS. "Baudelaire, Charles." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Retrieved July 09, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-BaudelaireCharles.html

Learn more about citation styles

Baudelaire, Charles

The Oxford Dictionary of Art | 2004 | | © The Oxford Dictionary of Art 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Baudelaire, Charles (b Paris, 9 Apr. 1821; d Paris, 31 Aug. 1867). French poet and critic. As well as being a major poet, Baudelaire was one of the liveliest art critics of his day, passionate and partisan in his views. He thought that there are no universal aesthetic standards, but a different type of beauty for different peoples and cultures. He also believed that the individuality of the artist is essential to the creation of beauty, and if it is suppressed or regimented, art becomes banal: ‘the beautiful is always bizarre’ was a favourite maxim. His favourite contemporary artist was Delacroix, whom he extolled for his imagination, intelligence, and technical skills. However, he singled out the relatively minor Constantin Guys as the representative par excellence of contemporary society, and wrote a long appreciation of his work entitled ‘Le Peintre de la vie moderne’, published as a series of articles in Le Figaro in 1863. The other artists with whom Baudelaire was involved include Courbet (he is one of the people depicted in The Painter's Studio (1854–5, Mus. d'Orsay, Paris)), Manet (he likewise appears in Music in the Tuileries Gardens (1863, NG, London)), and Rops, whose career he helped to launch. His writings later had great influence on the Symbolists.

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O2-BaudelaireCharles" title="Facts and informations about Charles Baudelaire">Charles Baudelaire</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

IAN CHILVERS. "Baudelaire, Charles." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Jul. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

IAN CHILVERS. "Baudelaire, Charles." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (July 9, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-BaudelaireCharles.html

IAN CHILVERS. "Baudelaire, Charles." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Retrieved July 09, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-BaudelaireCharles.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related topics

  Edit this list

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

Twelve prose poems by Roger J. Traynor (with a nod to Charles Baudelaire).
Magazine article from: Journal of Appellate Practice and Process; 9/22/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...poems of the French poet Charles Baudelaire, consisting of fifty pieces...mind in images akin to Baudelaire's verse. (4) That description of Baudelaire's prose poems seemed just...decade after first reading Baudelaire, I took a law school class...also a great prose poet--a Charles ... Read more
Creating from nothing: Swinburne and Baudelaire in "Ave Atque Vale".(Algernon Charles Swinburne, Charles Baudelaire)
Magazine article from: Victorian Poetry; 9/22/2006; ; 700+ words ; Algernon Charles Swinburne was among...English critics to praise Charles Baudelaire's Fleurs du Mal (1857...Fleurs du Mal in which Baudelaire caught the tension between...sensuous awareness. Baudelaire knew that these questions... Read more
Baudelaire, el genio maldito. (Charles Pierre Baudelaire, poeta francés)(TT: Baudelaire, the wretched genius) (TA: Charles Pierre Baudelaire, French poet)
Magazine article from: Contenido; 8/1/1998; ; 700+ words ; ...tiempos? El parisino Charles Pierre Baudelaire fue llamado por...siguiente, el joven Baudelaire se matriculó...El desordenado Charles se hospedaba en...colega y amigo de Baudelaire, comentó...cuanto al enamorado Charles, admitía... Read more
La Femme chez Heinrich Heine et Charles Baudelaire: le langage moderne de l'amour.(Book review)
Magazine article from: The Modern Language Review; 10/1/2006; ; 605 words ; ...Femme chez Heinrich Heine et Charles Baudelaire: le langage moderne de l'amour...2-7475-7822-4. Comparisons of Heine and Baudelaire are not entirely new terrain...parallels between the two poets was Baudelaire himself, in an unfinished draft... Read more
Baudelaire, degeneration theory, and literary criticism in fin de siecle Spain.(Charles Baudelaire)(Critical essay)
Magazine article from: The Modern Language Review; 10/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...degeneration theory to the work of Charles Baudelaire in fin de siecle Spain, to...degeneration theory to the work of Charles Baudelaire. The Theory of Degeneration...equivalent thereof. The example of Baudelaire is pertinent because, although... Read more
Remnants of Song: Trauma and the Experience of Modernity in Charles Baudelaire and Paul Celan.(Book Review)
Magazine article from: The Modern Language Review; 10/1/2002; ; 596 words ; ...the Experience of Modernity in Charles Baudelaire and Paul Celan. By ULRICH BAER...unacceptable transgression). Baer takes Baudelaire and Celan as the determining...fundamental definition of Modernism. Of Baudelaire he studies L'Etranger, debating... Read more
The poetry of brand names. (how authors have made brand names commonplace terms in their writings; includes references to works of John Milton, Aleksandr Pushkin and Charles-Pierre Baudelaire) (Column)
Magazine article from: National Review; 11/16/1992; ; 700+ words ; ...rhyme for the Russian disyllable po-et. Later in the century, Baudelaire writes in Sed Non Satiata : Je prefere a la constance, a l'opi...L'elixir de ta bouche ou l'amour se pavane. The nuits to which Baudelaire prefers the elixir of his mistress's lips are not nights of... Read more
Baudelaire's Le Spleen de Paris; shifting perspectives.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Reference & Research Book News; 11/1/2005; 134 words ; 0754651118 Baudelaire's Le Spleen de Paris; shifting perspectives...dissertation Anamorphic Texts: Stendhal, Baudelaire, Lacan, Derrida for Trinity College Dublin, into a focused study of Charles Baudelaire's (1821-67) poem Le Spleen de Paris...provocation with the notion that Baudelaire's ... Read more
The art of procrastination; Baudelaire's poetry in prose.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Reference & Research Book News; 2/1/2008; 120 words ; 9780874139839 The art of procrastination; Baudelaire's poetry in prose. Krueger, Cheryl. Univ. of Delaware Press...Hardcover PQ2191 Together with Aloysius Bertrand and others, Charles Beaudelaire (1821-1867) pioneered the genre of prose poetry...structural, and textual representations of temporality in ... Read more
The violence of modernity; Baudelaire, irony and the politics of form.(book)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Reference & Research Book News; 11/1/2006; 99 words ; 0801883083 The violence of modernity; Baudelaire, irony and the politics of form. Sanyal, Debarati. Johns...re-visions of culture and society PQ2191 French poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-67) is important, says Sanyal (French, U. of California-Berkel... Read more
Click to see an enlarged picture
Charles Baudelaire. Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

For students and teachers!

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including: