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Théophile Gautier

Person - Writer Comprehensive Aktualizováno: 2025-11-23

Research Status: Comprehensive Last Updated: 2025-11-23 Diary Coverage: Book 14 (1880) Type: Person - Writer

Overview

Théophile Gautier (1811-1872) was a French poet, novelist, journalist, and art critic. He is best known as a major proponent of "art for art's sake" (l'art pour l'art) and as a bridge between Romanticism and later aesthetic movements.

Literary Career

Gautier was enormously influential in 19th century French literature:

  • Poet: Émaux et Camées (1852) - precision and visual beauty
  • Novelist: Mademoiselle de Maupin (1835) - aesthetic manifesto
  • Travel writer: Accounts of Spain, Italy, the Orient
  • Art critic: Championed Delacroix and the Romantics
  • Journalist: Theater and art reviews for La Presse

"Art for Art's Sake"

Gautier's famous preface to Mademoiselle de Maupin (1835) argued that:

  • Art needs no moral or utilitarian justification
  • Beauty is its own purpose
  • "Everything useful is ugly"
  • The artist should pursue pure aesthetic perfection

This doctrine influenced the Parnassian poets, the Aesthetic Movement (Oscar Wilde), the Decadents, and later Symbolists.

Marie's Response (October 9, 1880)

Marie reads Mademoiselle de Maupin twice - once in Russia (didn't like it), then again in Paris because "M. Gautier is recognized as an enormous talent and 'Mlle de Maupin' as a masterpiece, especially the preface."

Her verdict:

  • The preface is "very good, it's true"
  • The novel itself: "it's in good French, it's from a man strong in his craft"
  • But: "it's not a sympathetic talent" - it's "antipathetic and bores me"

Marie shows critical independence: she can recognize technical mastery while admitting personal distaste. She notes people will say "but the language, the style!" but insists that despite good French and professional skill, it lacks something vital for her.

"Vigor and Boldness"

Interestingly, when comparing Gautier to Georges Sand, Marie gives Gautier credit for one quality Sand lacks:

"Georges Sand has less than Gautier this vigor, this boldness that gives you respect if not affection for him."

So while Gautier's work bores her, she respects his daring and strength - qualities she values highly.

Historical Context

By 1880, eight years after his death, Gautier was a canonical figure in French literature. His aesthetic theories had deeply influenced the generation of poets and critics active in Marie's time. Reading him was part of being culturally educated.

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