Art in Paris, 1845-1862

Book excerpt: Charles Baudelaire, one of the greatest French poets of the nineteenth century, has been described as "the father of modern art criticism." Rejecting a cold, mathematical, heartless approach, Baudelaire demanded instead a criticism that was "partial, passionate and political" and, he added, "amusing and poetic." His starting point was always the shock of pleasure experienced on the first visual encounter with a work of art. Eloquent, original, his writing conveys the excitement of personal involvement. This new paperback version of the highly praised earlier edition contains Baudelaire's accounts of the art exhibitions held in Paris between 1845 and 1862. There are extended reviews of the Salons of 1845, 1846, and 1859; three articles on the Exposition Universelle of 1855 (the first containing a major statement of Baudelaire's critical method); an essay on the special exhibition held at the Bazar Bonne-Nouvelle in 1846, in which Baudelaire gives his views on David and his School; and the article "Painters and Etchers" of 1862, which includes Baudelaire's only published reference to Manet and an enthusiastic welcome to Whistler. Jonathan Mayne's translation captures all the artist's spontaneity, and Mayne's extensive notes will help English-speaking readers to discover for themselves the ideas and insights of Baudelaire