Baudelaire: Selected Writings on Art and Literature (Penguin Classics)

The Contents of the Book:Introduction1. The Salon of 1845 [Extract]2. The Salon of 1846 [Extract]3. Of Virtuous Plays and Novels4. The Universal Exhibition of 1855: the Fine Arts [Extract]5. Of the Essence of Laughter, and generally of the Comic in the Plastic Arts6. Edgar Allan Poe, his Life and Works7. Further Notes of Edgar Poe8. Some French Caricaturists9. Some Foreign Caricaturists10. MADAME BOVARY by Gustave Flaubert11. Theophile Gautier12. The Salon of 1859 [Extract]13. Richard Wagner and TANNHAUSER in Paris14. The Life and Work of Eugene Delacroix15. The Painter of Modern LifeWe think of Baudelaire primarily as a remarkable poet, but (like Poe) he was widely read and devoted to the Arts. P. E. Charvey's 26-page Introduction is superb, detailing aspects of Baudelaire's biography and the history of these essays. "The...article on Theophile Gautier shows Baudelaire as a persuasive advocate in a no more than moderately good cause, but the cause of a friend dedicated, as Baudelaire was himself, to art." I am especially grateful to see both of the poet's prefaces to Poe, and the editor spends much space in the Introduction on the correspondences and differences between the two poets. At times the editor himself waxes poetical:"In one particular, Poe's ideal of beauty seems far removed from Baudelaire's. In spite of what Baudelaire claims for her in Poe's poetry, the latter's muse knows not passion, 'the excitement of the heart' as we mortals -- and Baudelaire himself -- understand it; wan, ethereal, she lives in a rarefied atmosphere; she will presently reappear in Pre-Raphaelite studios, inspire Rossetti, and sit for Burne-Jones."The translations in this book seem especially good and the essays are of keen interest in themselves, with the added degree with which they illustrate the mind of Baudelaire. The selection is generous and well-balanced."In this selection of criticism, Baudelaire's writings on the art of Delacroix, Ingres and Corot, the literature of Poe and Flaubert, and the music of Wagner, among others, illuminate not only those artists, but also the critic himself."

As described and shipping on time. Always lovely to interact with coherent sellers.

Artistic criticism from another era can be difficult to read; so many artists now obscure, so much of the cultural focus now different.Nevertheless, somewhat surprisingly Baudelaire was in his own time more known as a critic than a poet. To really understand his corpus, some familiarity with his criticism is necessary.There were certainly some parts that were rooted in the France of the Second Empire. His focus on Delacroix and Ingres and his long essay on Constantine Guy are hard to follow unless you’re thoroughly acquainted with their oeuvre.Perhaps more interesting is his overall perspective on art. A fierce opponent of the nineteenth century’s belief in human progress, he was no less an opponent of the traditional notion that art is both beautiful, good and true.For Baudelaire, art is only concerned with beauty. Beauty itself is the output of the highest faculty in man: our imagination. A wholesale romantic, much of Baudelaire’s criticism focuses on an analysis of the genius present in the imagination of select artists: the aforementioned Delacroix and Ingres but also then controversial artists such as Richard Wagner.He is above all a celebrant of culture. As one who’s read the Flowers of Evil would know, nature in Baudelaire can be grotesque and cruel. It is civilization above barbarism that enchants Baudelaire; imagination above a fallen human nature; art above the cruel realities of everyday life.It would be silly to say this is a must read. I had trouble following many of his detailed criticisms of mid-nineteenth century artworks and I think most readers would be in the same boat. But this seminal cultural figure, this devotee of the power of myth in a technocratic era, simply cannot be fully understood without reading his criticism. For those with interests in cultural history, it’s a difficult but worthwhile text.

I'd read a lot of it decades ago but suddenly found its relevance coming back to what I was engaged in. It's a nice penguin edition, as usual. the importance of Baudelaire's essays rests on both its perceptive content and style.

excellent