Théophile Gautier
(1811-1872)
French writer, poet, author of fantasy tales and art critique made famous by his tale of cloak and dagger: "Le Capitaine Fracasse".
Life of Théophile Gautier
Born in Tarbes France on August 30 1811, his family moved to Paris soon after his birth. Destined to a career in painting, he made a crucial acquaintance on June 27 1829 with Victor Hugo, who gave him an appetite for literature. Faithful to Hugo, Gautier was enthused as he sat at the première of Hugo's drama "Hernani" on February 25, 1830. During this momentous evening, forever burnt in history books as "Bataille d’Hernani!"(Hernani's battle), he sided with the defenders of romanticism, helping Hugo fight the proponents of classicism. History notes that the flaming red sweater he wore that night caused a scandal which remains famous to this day. Gautier always said he remained true to the choices he made in 1830, and in a certain way, he did, even though his work evolved towards estheticism, he remained a romantic to the end as witnessed in his "Histoire du Romantisme".
Romantic works
Towards the end of 1830, Gautier started frequenting meetings of the "!Petit Cénacle!", a group of artists which met in the studio of sculptor Jehan Du Seigneur. There, he befriended Nerval, Pétrus Borel, Alphonse Brot, Philotée O’Neddy and Joseph Bouchardy. At that time, he led a joyous bohemian life. His first tale of fantasy was published on May 4 1831. After that, his talent for this fashionable style never ceased to impress with works such as "Arria Marcella" (1852), "Le Roman de la Momie" (1858) and "Spirite" (1866). Along with his poems, Gautier published prose: "Les Jeunes-France", a mocking tale (1883) — a collection of parodies — and "Le roman Mademoiselle de Maupin" (1835), in which he wrote a provocating and scandalous foreword affirming his beliefs in esthecism. A slave to the press in 1836, Gautier edited his first article for La Presse, Émile de Girardin's newspaper, for whom he worked until 1855, then he worked for the "Moniteur universel" until 1868.
Gautier wrote over 1,200 articles, always raging against the restrictions imposed by a daily press— his only real breadwinner, which was also an obstacle to his writing a great work. Despite economic hardship, Théophile Gautier became a poet of note towards the end of his career under the French "Empire". He was named librarian to princess Mathilde.
At his death, on October 23, 1872, Victor Hugo and Mallarmé paid him the ultimate compliment by writing two poems published together under the title "Tombeau de Théophile Gautier" (1873). In 1857, Baudelaire dedicated his "Fleurs du mal" with these elogious lines:
"!Au poète impeccable!/!au parfait magicien ès lettres françaises!/!à mon très cher et très vénéré!/!maître et ami!/!Théophile Gautier!"
(Translates as: Impeccable poet/magician of the French verb/ dear and venerable/master and friend/Théophile Gautier!)The importance of his works
The image we have today of Gautier is that of a nearly fanatic supporter of Victor Hugo and a romantic. Although his poems of the 1830s were somewhat somber, tending towards the macabre (as shown the dialogue "!la Trépassée et le Ver!", in "La Comédie de la mort"), Gautier distinguishes himself from other romantics by his concern for formalism paving the way for Baudelaire.
In much of Gautier's work, the subject is less important than the pleasure of telling the story: more than a supporter of art for art's sake, he favored a provocative style to the detriment of the story.Other aspects of the work
This estheticism is a common link between his poems, "Émaux et Camées" (1852) and his great novels: "Le Roman de la Momie" (1858) or "Le Capitaine Fracasse" (1863), published in serialized form from1861 à 1863. "Émaux et Camées", illustrates his principles of estheticism and his need for perfection. Each poem is a textual representation, perfectly chiseled, of an object for its beauty, real or imagined, alive or inert, natural or manmade.
Situated in the Gascony region in the XVII century, "Le Capitaine Fracasse" is a joyous parody of the comical tale: incredible adventures, atypical personages and landscapes united in a world of harmony and accuracy.
In addition to his work as a poet and a storyteller Gautier was also a witness of his world as shown by his "Voyage en Espagne" (1845), "Les Beaux-Arts en Europe" (1855), a collection of art critiques, "Voyage en Russie" (1867) and his "Histoire du romantisme" (posthumous, 1874), an unfinished work.
He devoted an essay to the life of Honoré de Balzac (1859) and wrote ballet libretto, most notably "Gisèle" (1841) and "l’Anneau de Sacountâla" (1858).
Source: Encarta 98
| Signature of Théophile Gautier | |
A translation of "JETTATURA" by
Théophille Gautier is available at Http://home.pacbell.net/briseis/jettatura.htm
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