Selected Poems

Gautier, Théophile (1811–1872), translated by Kline, A. S. (contact-email)

Théophile Gautier's poetry explores diverse themes and styles - embedded in the ethos of romanticism and the pursuit of aesthetic beauty. His work emphasises the sensory elements that evoke visual and emotive responses. Known for his stance that art should be appreciated for its aesthetic qualities independent of social, political, or moral values, Gautier was a proponent of the “Art for Art’s Sake” movement. This philosophy was articulated in the preface to his novel Mademoiselle de Maupin where he famously declared that “nothing is really beautiful unless it is useless; everything useful is ugly.”

Before turning to literature, Gautier had initially studied painting, and his transition to writing did not diminish his involvement with the visual arts. He became a prominent art critic, influencing not only literary circles but also the realm of visual arts. His impact was such that the poet Charles Baudelaire, also an esteemed art critic, dedicated his seminal work Les Fleurs du Mal to Gautier, acknowledging him as “a perfect magician of French letters.” In 1862, Gautier's significant influence in the arts was further recognised when he was elected chairman of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts by a board that included such luminaries as Édouard Manet, Eugène Delacroix, and Gustave Doré.

Gautier’s poetry often integrates these artistic principles, blending visual art with musical elements. His lyrical flow is marked by rhythmic fluidity and rich imagery, which convey movement and life.

Author Details

Théophile Gautier (1811-1872) was born in Tarbes, in the Hautes-Pyrénées region of south-west France, his family moving to Paris in 1814. He was a friend, at school, of the poet Gérard de Nerval, who introduced him to Victor Hugo. Gautier contributed to various journals, including La Presse, throughout his life, which offered opportunities for travel in Spain (1840), Algeria (1845, 1862), Italy (1850), Russia (1858-59, 1861), and Egypt (1869). He was a devotee of the ballet, writing a number of scenarios including that of Giselle. At the time of the 1848 Revolution, he expressed strong support for the ideals of the second Republic, a support which he maintained for the rest of his life.

A successor to the first wave of Romantic writers, including Chateaubriand and Lamartine, he directed the Revue de Paris from 1851 to 1856, worked as a journalist for La Presse and Le Moniteur universel, and in 1856 became editor of L’Artiste, in which he published numerous editorials asserting his doctrine of ‘Art for art’s sake’. Saint-Beuve secured him critical acclaim, he became chairman of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1862, and in 1868 was granted the sinecure of librarian to Princess Mathilde Bonaparte, a cousin of Napoleon III, having been introduced to her salon.

Gautier remained in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, and the aftermath of the Commune of 1871, dying of heart disease at the age of sixty-one in 1872.

Though ostensibly a Romantic poet, Gautier may be seen as a forerunner to, or point of reference for, a number of divergent poetic movements including symbolism and modernism.

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Kline, A. S.

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