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Theophile Gautier
Life Time
31 August 1811 - 23 October 1872
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Gautier, Theophile (1811-1872), French writer. Born on August 31, 1811 in Tarbas, he was educated in Paris. He took up painting, but soon realized his limitations in this field. Beginning in 1830 he constantly published poems, stories, novels and travel notes. Gauthier died in the Paris suburb of Neuilly on October 23, 1872. Gauthier’s poetry and prose mark the transition from Romanticism to the Parnassian school. He is a recognized apostle of "art for art." In February 1830, Gauthier was the most
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Gautier, Theophile (1811-1872), French writer. Born on August 31, 1811 in Tarbas, he was educated in Paris. He took up painting, but soon realized his limitations in this field. Beginning in 1830 he constantly published poems, stories, novels and travel notes. Gauthier died in the Paris suburb of Neuilly on October 23, 1872.
Gauthier’s poetry and prose mark the transition from Romanticism to the Parnassian school. He is a recognized apostle of "art for art." In February 1830, Gauthier was the most brilliant representative of the youth that supported Hugo in his struggle against classicist criticism. His first collection of poems (Premieres poesies), published in the same year, was almost entirely romantic, as was his descriptive poem Albertus (1832). Nevertheless, the author declared the absence of such a characteristic interest in politics, public life, science and even nature. Rejecting the romantic ideal of majestic nature, he likewise rejected perfect love. Gauthier contrasted the refined feelings of his contemporaries with pagan eroticism, as exemplified by the novel Mademoiselle de Maupin (1835).
Gauthier had an impeccable technique that allowed him to make the necessary adjustments to the romantic style. The peak of his poetic skill was the collection of Emaux et Camees (1852). This included the famous poem Art, in which Gaultier proclaimed technical complexity as the main requirement of art. His voluminous novel Captain Fracasse (1863) is a variation on the theme of the comic novel by P. Scarron (17th century). Among the prose works of Gauthier is the posthumously published History of Romanticism (Histoire du romantisme, 1874).