Born in Paris. His father was a peasant who became a senator during the Napoleonic era, Francois Baudelaire. The year his son was born, he turned 62 years old, and his wife was only 27 years old. Francois Baudelaire was an artist, and from early childhood he instilled in his son a love of art, took him to museums and galleries, and introduced him to his artist friends. But the boy lost his father the year he turned 6 years old. A year later, Charles's mother married General Opique; The boy's relationship with his stepfather did not work out. His mother’s marriage left a heavy imprint on the character of Charles, who in his adolescence and youth, in defiance of the opinions of his stepfather and mother, often committed acts that shocked society.

When Charles was 11 years old, the family moved to Lyon, and the boy was sent to a boarding school. In 1836, the Opiques returned to Paris, and Charles entered the College of Saint Louis, from where he was expelled just a year before graduation. In May 1841, Baudelaire was sent on a trip to India (as a punishment) to “get rid of the bad influence” of the bohemian circle of the Latin Quarter. Charles Baudelaire stayed in India for only two months; longing for the homeland he left behind forced him to return to Paris. In 1841, he entered into the right of inheritance, but quickly began to squander his father’s money, and in 1844, by a court order, management of the inheritance was transferred to his mother, and Charles himself would henceforth receive only a modest amount of “pocket money” every month.

Literary creativity

In 1857, his most famous collection of poetry () was published, which shocked the public so much that the censors fined Baudelaire and forced him to remove 6 of the most “obscene” poems from the collection. Then Baudelaire turned to criticism and quickly achieved success and recognition in this field. Simultaneously with the first edition of The Flowers of Evil, another poetry book by Baudelaire, Poems in Prose, was published, which did not leave behind as significant a mark as the condemned book of the poet. In 1860, Baudelaire published a collection of prose poems. In 1861, the second edition of “The Flowers of Evil” was published, revised and expanded by the author.

Psychedelic experiences

Baudelaire has one of the most clear descriptions of the effects of hashish on the human body, which for many years became the standard for everyone who wrote about psychotropic cannabis products.

From 1844 to 1848, Baudelaire attended the “Hashish Club,” founded by Jacques-Joseph Moreau, and consumed dawamesque (an Algerian variety of hashish). According to Théophile Gautier, who actively participated in the life of the club, Baudelaire “took hashish once or twice during the experiments, but never used it constantly. This happiness, bought at a pharmacy and carried away in a vest pocket, was disgusting to him.” Subsequently, Baudelaire became addicted to opium, but by the early 1850s. overcame his addiction and wrote three large articles about his psychedelic experience, which formed a collection (1860).

Two of the three articles - (1851) and (1858) - are devoted to cannabinoids. Baudelaire considered their influence interesting, but unacceptable for a creative person. According to Baudelaire, “wine makes a person happy and sociable, hashish isolates him. Wine extols the will, hashish destroys it.” Despite this, in his articles he acts as an objective observer, without exaggerating the psychotropic effects of hashish and without falling into excessive moralizing; therefore, the disappointing conclusions that he draws from his experience are perceived with a certain degree of confidence.

Disease

In 1864, Baudelaire went to Belgium, where he spent two and a half years, despite his disgust with the boring Belgian life and his rapidly deteriorating health. While in the Church of Saint-Loup in Namur, Baudelaire lost consciousness and fell straight onto the stone steps. He was brought to Paris and placed in a clinic, where he died. Before his death, doctors discovered the first signs of right-sided paralysis and severe aphasia, which later turned into complete loss of speech. He was buried in the Montparnasse cemetery.

One of the most popular French poets of the 19th century is Charles Baudelaire. The biography of the writer is still of interest to all those interested in the French school of poetry. Baudelaire is considered the theorist and founder of decadence and symbolism. These movements had a significant influence on the development of all European literature.

The poet's youth

The poet Charles Baudelaire, whose biography dates back to 1821, was born in Paris. His father François was a peasant at a very advanced age and took part in the Great French Revolution. The year Charles was born, he turned 62 years old. The mother was a young 27-year-old girl. Despite his peasant origins, Francois Baudelaire was seriously interested in painting and began to instill in his son a love of art from the first days of his life. In 1827, Francois died.

A year later, Colonel Jacques Opique, who soon became a diplomat, became the stepfather of the future poet.

At the age of 11, Baudelaire moved with his family to Lyon and began studying at the Royal College. Already at that time he constantly suffered from melancholy and sudden mood swings. Accuracy and diligence were abruptly replaced by absent-mindedness and laziness. Although at this age his passion for literature first manifested itself.

The family returned to the French capital in 1836, when Charles turned 15. He studied law at the College of Saint Louis and immersed himself in the nightlife of Paris. By his own admission, he dates women of easy virtue, becomes infected with sexually transmitted diseases from them, and spends borrowed money. His turbulent life leaves an imprint on his studies, and he fails to graduate from college.

Having finally received his diploma by hook or by crook, Charles decides to try his hand at literature, despite the fact that his stepfather insists on a career as a lawyer. To save her son from the influence of depraved Paris, his mother sends him on a trip to India. In 1841, Charles Baudelaire sails from France. The poet's biography was replenished with new and fresh impressions from this trip, despite the fact that he never reached India.

Returning from an almost year-long trip, Baudelaire receives an inheritance, quite decent for those times. He immediately begins to spend it and very soon gains the reputation of a rich dandy in metropolitan society.

Baudelaire's Muse

During this period, Baudelaire meets his muse. For the next 20 years, she became the ballerina Jeanne Duval. At that time, she had just arrived in Paris from Haiti. The poet fell in love with the Creole almost immediately; she became the most important woman in his life after his mother. Many poems are dedicated to her, for example, “Hair”, “Balcony” and “Exotic Aroma”.

Baudelaire called her Black Venus - for him Jeanne Duval became a symbol of sexuality and beauty. For 20 years, Baudelaire’s family did not accept the ballerina, suspecting that she was only defrauding the poet of money. In 1862, his muse died after contracting syphilis.

His acquaintance and lavish lifestyle with Duval led to the fact that in 1844 his mother filed a lawsuit to establish guardianship over her son. Since then, the entire inheritance went to her, and the poet received only a small amount of pocket money every month. This worsened the already not very good relationship with my stepfather. At the same time, Baudelaire still continued to treat his mother with respect and love.

Literary achievements

Until 1846, Charles Baudelaire was known only in narrow circles. The poet's biography was rewritten after the publication of his articles on contemporary art. His assessment was supported by most French people.

During the same period, Baudelaire became acquainted with the work of the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. In him, according to literary scholars, he felt a kindred spirit. Therefore, over the next decade and a half, I began to devote a lot of time to the American’s stories, translating them. Charles Baudelaire translated most of his major works into French.

The writer did not stay away from the French Revolution of 1848. He spoke on the barricades and even edited a radical newspaper for a short time. Soon his passion for politics passed, Charles concentrated on creativity.

In the 50s he wrote his best poetry.

Life's work

"Flowers of Evil" is the main collection of the French symbolist, which was published over 11 years. During this time it underwent three editions. After the first, a serious fine was imposed on the poet for violations of moral standards. As a result, several of the most obscene poems had to be removed.

Baudelaire began creating The Flowers of Evil in 1857. The main themes of the poems repeat the main lyrical moods of the poet - boredom, melancholy and despondency. A large number of poems are dedicated to the French poet Théophile Gautier and Baudelaire's muse, the ballerina Jeanne Duval.

One of Baudelaire's most famous works, the poem "Albatross", was included in the second edition. In it, the poet is compared to a wounded bird.

Health problems

In 1865, Charles Baudelaire, whose poems were extremely popular by that time, moved to Belgium. He lives here for two and a half years, while his health deteriorates greatly.

In 1866, illness put him to bed. He contracted syphilis. In April, he was taken to the central hospital in serious condition, but after his family arrived he was transferred back to the hotel.

Soon Charles could no longer clearly formulate his thoughts, he constantly fell into prostration, the poet’s mind refused. His mother took him to Paris, where she placed him in a mental hospital. Baudelaire died on the last day of summer in 1867.

Poet's grave

The French poet Charles Baudelaire was buried in Paris, in the Montparnasse cemetery, next to his stepfather, with whom he had been at enmity all his life. Not a word was said about Baudelaire on the tombstone.

Only three and a half decades later a majestic tombstone was erected on the grave. The initiators of its creation were admirers of his talent. Moreover, some doubted the need for this monument, since even by the beginning of the 20th century, the significance of Baudelaire for French poetry was questioned by many.

As a result, the monument was opened only in 1902. Today this place remains one of the most popular among his fans. Writers gather here and read Baudelaire's poems.

The poet's work

Charles Baudelaire began publishing his works in the mid-40s. Poems began to appear in the magazine "Artist". Many of his poetic works fairly shocked the public, who were not accustomed to such creativity. Despite this, the poet rapidly achieved fame and popularity. After “Flowers of Evil,” another of his poetry books, “Poems in Prose,” was published.

The last collection of his works was blank poetry, collected in the cycle “Paris Spleen”.

Experiments with prohibited substances

One of the first clear descriptions of the effects of drugs on the human body was made by Charles Baudelaire. The poet's work was closely connected with the use of hashish.

For several years he attended a hashish club based in Paris. Moreover, according to the founders of this society, the poet himself did not use the drug regularly, but did it only two or three times as an experiment.

A little later, Baudelaire became addicted, and to opium. However, he managed to overcome this addiction. He wrote several poems about his psychedelic experiences, including the collection Artificial Paradise.

Several articles by Baudelaire are devoted to banned substances today: “A Poem about Hashish” and “Wine and Hashish.” The poet considered the effect of drugs on the creative essence to be interesting, but not acceptable for a real artist. The poet preferred wine to drugs, since, in his opinion, only it made a person happy and sociable, while hashish and other cannabinoids only suppressed creative nature.

In his articles and poems, Baudelaire evaluates the effects of these substances on the human body as an outside observer, without exaggerating the possible effect, but also without falling into unnecessary moralizing.

Poetry and music

Baudelaire, an art critic, left his programmatic articles devoted not only to painting and literature, but also to music. In the sonnet “Correspondences,” he, in particular, substantiated the principle by which different types of art can interact with each other.

Baudelaire was a great lover and keen connoisseur of music. It was he who discovered the composer Wagner for the French. The poet's essay "Richard Wagner and Tannhäuser in Paris", published in 1861, is dedicated to him.

In his poems and sonnets, Baudelaire repeatedly mentioned his musical preferences. These are primarily Carl Maria von Weber, Ludwin van Beethofen and Franz Liszt.

Many famous composers wrote music for Baudelaire's poems. Among them are Claude Debussy, Anatoly Krupnov, David Tukhmanov, Milen Farmer, Konstantin Kinchev.

Charles Pierre Baudelaire. April 9, 1821, Paris, France - August 31, 1867, ibid. French poet, critic, essayist and translator.

The founder of the aesthetics of decadence and symbolism, who influenced the development of all subsequent European poetry. A classic of French and world literature.

The most famous and significant in his work was a collection of poems "The flowers of Evil", published by him in 1857.

His father, Francois Baudelaire, came from a peasant background, took part in the Great Revolution, and became a senator during the Napoleonic era. The year his son was born, he turned 62 years old, and his wife was only 27 years old. Francois Baudelaire was an artist, and instilled in his son a love of art from early childhood - he took him to museums and galleries, introduced him to his artist friends, and took him to his studio.

At the age of six, the boy lost his father. A year later, Charles's mother married a military man, Colonel Jacques Opique, who then became the French ambassador to various diplomatic missions. The boy's relationship with his stepfather did not work out.

His mother’s remarriage left a heavy imprint on Charles’s character and became his “mental trauma,” partly explaining his shocking actions to society, which he actually committed in defiance of his stepfather and mother. As a child, Baudelaire was, by his own admission, “passionately in love with his mother.”

When Charles was 11 years old, the family moved to Lyon, and the boy was sent to a boarding school, from where he subsequently moved to the Royal College of Lyon. The child suffered from attacks of severe melancholy and studied unevenly, surprising teachers with either diligence and intelligence, or laziness and complete absent-mindedness. However, already here Baudelaire’s attraction to literature and poetry manifested itself, reaching the point of passion.

In 1836, the family returned to Paris, and Charles entered the College of Saint Louis, taking a course in law. From that time on, he plunges into the turbulent life of entertainment establishments - he learns about women of easy virtue, venereal infection, spending borrowed money - in a word, he studies. As a result, he was denied access to college just a year before the end of the course.

In 1841, having completed his education with great effort and passed the exam for a bachelor of laws, young Charles told his brother: “I don’t feel a calling to anything.”

His stepfather envisioned a career as a lawyer or diplomat, but Charles wanted to devote himself to literature. His parents, in the hope of keeping him from “this disastrous path”, from the “bad influence of the Latin Quarter,” convinced Charles to set sail on a journey - to India, to Calcutta.

After 10 months, Baudelaire, having never reached India, returned from Reunion Island to France, having taken from the trip vivid impressions of the beauties of the East and dreaming of translating them into artistic images. Subsequently, Baudelaire was inclined to embellish his overseas trip, as often happens, believing his own inventions, but for his poetry, which was infused with exotic motifs of distant travel, it is not so important whether it is fueled by real experience or a passionate imagination.

In 1842, the adult S. P. Baudelaire entered into inheritance rights, having received at his disposal the rather significant fortune of his own father of 75,000 francs, and began to quickly spend. In the coming years, in artistic circles he acquired a reputation as a dandy and bon vivant.

At the same time he met a ballerina Jeanne Duval, - a Creole from Haiti, - with his “Black Venus”, with whom he could not part until his death, whom he simply idolized. According to his mother, she “tormented him as best she could” and “shaken coins out of him until the last possible moment.” The Baudelaire family did not accept Duval. In a series of scandals, he even tried to commit suicide.

In 1844, the family filed a lawsuit to establish guardianship over their son. By court order, management of the inheritance was transferred to his mother, and from that moment on, Charles himself was supposed to receive only a small amount of “pocket money” every month. From then on, Baudelaire, who was often carried away by “profitable projects,” experienced constant need, at times falling into real poverty. In addition, he and his beloved Duval were tormented by "Cupid's Disease" until the end of their days.

Baudelaire's first poems were published in 1843-1844 in the magazine "Artist" ( "Lady Creole", "Don Juan in Hell", "Malabar Girl"). The most important moment in the process of formation of Baudelaire’s global ideological and literary orientations was the late 1840s and early 1850s.

The cityscape, mundane and everyday, full of rough details, develops into a symbol full of exciting mysteries, prompting Baudelaire to think about the world he recreated. The lyricism of the diptych is complex: the gloomy discovery of the dirty, disgusting is combined with a feeling of the fullness of life, the power of its natural principles, their mutual transitions and contrasts. The text begins with a mention of those “who have the right to rest after the day's labors.” This is a worker, a scientist. The day belongs to creation - this is the author’s idea.

In 1845 and 1846, Baudelaire, widely known until then only in narrow circles of the Latin Quarter, appeared with review articles on art in the “single-author magazine” Salon (two issues were published - “Salon of 1845” and “Salon of 1846” ). Baudelaire gains fame.

In 1846, he came across the stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Baudelaire, he said, “felt a kindred spirit in Poe.” He fascinates him so much that Baudelaire devoted a total of 17 years to studying the American writer and translating his works into French.

During the Revolution of 1848, Baudelaire fought on the barricades and edited, albeit briefly, the radical newspaper Le Salut Public. But political passions, based mainly on a broadly understood humanism, very soon pass, and he subsequently more than once spoke contemptuously about the revolutionaries, condemning them as a faithful adherent of Catholicism.

Baudelaire's poetic activity reached its apogee in the 1850s.

His most famous collection of poetry was published in 1857. “The Flowers of Evil” (“Les Fleurs du mal”), which shocked the public so much that the censors fined Baudelaire and forced him to remove the six most “obscene” poems from the collection.

Then Baudelaire turned to criticism and quickly achieved success and recognition in it. Simultaneously with the first edition of “The Flowers of Evil,” another poetry book by Baudelaire, “Poems in Prose,” was published, which did not leave behind as significant a mark as the poet’s condemned book.

In 1865, Baudelaire went to Belgium, where he spent two and a half years, despite his disgust with the boring Belgian life and his rapidly deteriorating health. While in the Church of Saint-Loup in Namur, Baudelaire lost consciousness and fell straight onto the stone steps.

In 1866, Charles-Pierre Baudelaire became seriously ill. He described his illness as follows: “suffocation occurs, thoughts are confused, there is a feeling of falling, dizziness, severe headaches appear, cold sweat appears, and irresistible apathy sets in”.

For obvious reasons, he kept silent about syphilis. Meanwhile, the disease worsened his condition every day. On April 3, he was taken to a Brussels hospital in serious condition, but after his mother arrived he was transferred to a hotel. At this time, Charles-Pierre Baudelaire looks terrifying - a distorted mouth, a fixed gaze, an almost complete loss of the ability to pronounce words. The disease progressed, and after a few weeks Baudelaire could not formulate his thoughts, often plunged into prostration, and stopped leaving his bed. Despite the fact that the body still continued to resist, the poet’s mind was fading.

He was transported to Paris and placed in a mental hospital, where he died on August 31, 1867.

He was buried in the Montparnasse cemetery, in the same grave with his hated stepfather. In August 1871, the cramped grave also received the ashes of the poet’s mother.

Charles Pierre Baudelaire was born in Paris in the family of François Baudelaire, a descendant of peasants who made a career as a senator under Napoleon. The age difference between his parents was 35 years. Despite his important post, Charles's father paid him a lot of attention. I went with him to exhibitions, museums, and introduced him to artist friends. In short, he instilled a love of art. But only the boy turned 6 years old when Francois died. Mother remarried. But the relationship between Charles and his stepfather did not work out. In order to annoy him and his mother, he began to do shocking things. Having reached adulthood, he began to squander his father's money. As a result, the court decided to transfer the inheritance to the management of his mother. Charles himself henceforth received funds only for pocket expenses.

It was at this time that Baudelaire came to literature. The poet's most famous collection, Flowers of Evil, shocks the public. The censors exclude the six most obscene poems from it and fine Charles.

Another outstanding work of the critic is considered to be his works on the effect of hashish use on the body - three articles that made up the collection “Artificial Paradise”.

Charles Baudelaire died in Belgium after a long and serious illness. He was buried in the Montparnasse cemetery, which is located in Paris.

"Vecherka" offers a selection of quotes from the poet’s most beautiful poems.

1. Dancing snake.

Dedicated to Jeanne Duval, actress and ballerina, Baudelaire's muse for twenty years.

“You look careless and lazy
I love to contemplate when
Your flickering shimmers
They tremble like a distant star.

I love wandering waves
Fragrant curls,
That they are full of pungent incense
And the black blue of the seas.

Like a boat, inspired by the dawn,
Suddenly the sails unfurl,
My spirit, touched by a dream,
Suddenly it flies into the sky.”

2. Lola de Valence

Inscription for a painting by Edouard Manet, a good friend of the poet. A sea of ​​criticism fell on the artist for his depiction of the Spanish woman. He was criticized for his flat shape. roughness of the drawing and lack of completeness of the work. Baudelaire could not help but support his comrade.

“Among the everywhere visible and varied beauty,
It is clear to me, friends, that our minds are in flux, -
But in Lola de Valence there is an unexpected radiance
Enchanting game, and roses, and blackness.”

3. To the painting by Eugene Delacroix “Tasso in prison”

The image of the poet Torquato Tasso, who, by order of the Duke d'Este in the 16th century, was placed in solitary confinement for several years, was for the romantics a symbol of independent art. Delacroix dedicated a whole series of paintings to this subject, where he presented to the viewer a man unbroken by circumstances, a fighter for freedom, a clash of genius and injustice. Charles Baudelaire wrote a poem on one canvas from this cycle.

"Yes! A genius locked in a damp monastery,
Antics, this cry, visions that in a crowd,
Revolting, circling, disturbing the poet's ears,

The dreamer, torn from his bed by horror, -
Here is your symbol, Soul, with a vague dream:
Reality is pressing you with its prison!”

4. Paris Dream

Baudelaire addressed this work to Constantin Huys. He was an artist famous in his time for his sketches of Parisian life.

“Opening my gaze, blazing with fire,
I made out the shack again,
And, having become myself again,
I felt the thorns of worries.

Clock with funeral bell
It struck noon so rudely!
Above the inert and sad world
You, the sky, shed darkness!”

5. Clock

Charles Baudelaire spent almost 17 years translating the works of Edgar Allan Poe, whom he considered his spiritual brother. In 1855, he adapted the story “The Masque of the Red Death” into French: “And when sixty minutes passed - three thousand six hundred seconds of fleeting time - and the clock began to strike again, the same confusion set in and the crowd was seized by confusion and anxiety.” This poem is associated with his images.

“REMEMBER! DO NOT FORGET! AND THIS IS A MEMOR!-
Know!
The larynx spoke in the dialect of all tribes!
Frisky minutes resemble veins:
Don't leave the rocks without taking all the gold!

Know: Time is like a player who does not deceive,
But he will beat us! This is the law and the way!
The day has become shorter and the night is getting thicker; DO NOT FORGET:
The abyss is hungry. There is no sand in the clock anymore.

And soon the hour will strike. Your last refuge, -
Your Shame, Repentance, Heavenly Chance, together
And Chastity, - a wife with maiden honor, -
"Coward! The deadline has passed! Die!” they say.

, essayist and translator; the founder of the aesthetics of decadence and symbolism, who influenced the development of all subsequent European poetry. A classic of French and world literature.

The most famous and significant in his work was the collection of poems “Flowers of Evil,” published by him in 1857.

Biography

Charles Pierre Baudelaire was born on April 9, 1821 in Paris. His father, François Baudelaire, was a peasant, a participant in the Great Revolution, who became a senator during the Napoleonic era. The year his son was born, he turned 62 years old, and his wife was only 27 years old. Francois Baudelaire was an artist and instilled in his son a love of art from early childhood - he took him to museums and galleries, introduced him to his artist friends, and took him to his studio.

When Charles was 11 years old, the family moved to Lyon, and the boy was sent to a boarding school, from where he subsequently transferred to the Royal College of Lyon. The child suffered from attacks of severe melancholy and studied unevenly, surprising teachers with either diligence and intelligence, or laziness and complete absent-mindedness. However, already here Baudelaire’s attraction to literature and poetry manifested itself, reaching the point of passion. At the age of six, the boy lost his father. A year later, Charles's mother married a military man, Colonel Jacques Opique, who later became the French ambassador to various diplomatic missions. The boy's relationship with his stepfather did not work out. His mother’s remarriage left a heavy imprint on Charles’s character and became his “mental trauma,” partly explaining his shocking actions to society, which he actually committed in defiance of his stepfather and mother. As a child, Baudelaire was, by his own admission, “passionately in love with his mother.”

In 1836, the family returned to Paris, and Charles enrolled in a law course at the College of Saint Louis. From that time on, he plunged into the turbulent life of entertainment establishments, experiencing women of easy virtue, venereal infection, and wasting borrowed money. As a result, a year before the end of the course, he was denied training at college.

In 1841, having completed his education with great effort and passed the exam for a bachelor of laws, young Charles told his brother: “I don’t feel a calling to anything.” His stepfather envisioned a career as a lawyer or diplomat, but Charles wanted to devote himself to literature. His parents, in the hope of keeping him from “this disastrous path”, from the “bad influence of the Latin Quarter”, convinced Charles to set sail on a journey - to India, to Calcutta.

At the same time, he met the ballerina Jeanne Duval, a Creole from Haiti - his “Black Venus”, whom he could not part with until his death and whom he idolized. According to his mother, she “tormented him as best she could” and “shaken coins out of him until the last possible moment.” The Baudelaire family did not accept Duval. In a series of scandals, he even tried to commit suicide. After 10 months, Baudelaire, having never reached India, returned from Reunion Island to France, having taken from the trip vivid impressions of the beauties of the East and dreaming of translating them into artistic images. In 1842, the adult Baudelaire entered into inheritance rights, receiving at his disposal a fairly significant fortune of his own father of 75,000 francs, which he began to quickly spend. In the coming years, in artistic circles he gained a reputation as a dandy and bon vivant. His closest friends at this time were the poet Théodore de Banville and the artist Émile Deroy, who painted a portrait of the young Baudelaire.

Mature years

In 1845 and 1846, Baudelaire, until then widely known only in narrow circles of the Latin Quarter, published review articles on art in the “single-author magazine” Salon (two issues were published - “Salon of 1845” and “Salon of 1846” ). According to Z. A. Vengerova, “the opinions he expressed here about contemporary artists and movements were later fully confirmed by the judgments of posterity, and his articles themselves belong to the brilliant pages ever written about art.” Baudelaire gained fame.

Burial

Charles-Pierre Baudelaire was buried in the Montparnasse cemetery, in the same grave with his hated stepfather. In August 1871, the cramped grave also received the ashes of the poet’s mother. The lengthy epitaph contains only three lines about Baudelaire:

“STEPSON OF GENERAL JACQUES OPIC AND SON OF CAROLINE ARCHANDBEAUT-DEFAI. DIED IN PARIS AUGUST 31, 1867 AT THE AGE OF 46 YEARS."

Not a word about the poet Baudelaire.

The family burial site was pressed against the western wall of the cemetery and was gradually surrounded by massive tombstones, preventing access to it. 35 years after the poet’s death, a majestic cenotaph to Baudelaire was installed on the transversal avenue of the cemetery - the only cenotaph in the entire cemetery. On a simple slab, right on the ground, there is a full-length figure of the poet, wrapped in a shroud, and from the side of the head rises a huge stele, on top of which Satan is erected.

The creation of the sculptural composition was initiated by Baudelaire’s great admirer, poet and critic Leon Deschamps, who announced on August 1, 1892, in the magazine La Plume, which he founded, a public fundraiser for Baudelaire’s cenotaph. The organizational council included many prominent people of art who knew Baudelaire well during his lifetime, his colleagues and followers; Among them, the chairman of the council is the poet Lecomte de Lisle, as well as the first French Nobel laureate, Sully Prudhomme.

The construction of the cenotaph was accompanied by fierce controversy: some doubted its feasibility, others doubted the choice of the architect. Auguste Rodin also participated in the election of the architect, presenting his project, but the selection committee preferred the composition of the little-known sculptor José de Charmois.

There is a lot of free space around the cenotaph and it is this place that attracts Baudelaire's fans who come here to honor his memory and read his poems.

Literary creativity

Baudelaire’s first poems were published in 1843-1844 in the magazine “Artist” (“To a Creole Lady,” “Don Juan in Hell,” “To a Malabar Girl”). The most important moment in the process of formation of Baudelaire’s global ideological and literary orientations was the late 1840s and early 1850s.

Baudelaire and music

Baudelaire, as an art critic, left significant judgments about painting and artists, about music and composers, and substantiated in his aesthetics and poetry the principle of correspondences between the arts (see the sonnet “Correspondences”). He was a keen connoisseur of music. Baudelaire was the first in France to discover the talent of Richard Wagner, writing the outstanding essay “Richard Wagner and Tannhäuser in Paris” (1861). In Baudelaire's works there are references to his musical preferences: Weber, Beethoven, Liszt. In Brussels, the already seriously ill Baudelaire often asked to play the overture to Tannhäuser for him.