Théophile Gautier And Baudelaire

Artist: Samij Datta
Title: Théophile Gautier and Baudelaire as the two flowers of a glorious spring
Medium: Mixed Media on Paper

Description: The painting tries to capture a historical moment, Baudelaire’s Dedication to
“Master and friend/Théophile Gautier/With sentiments/Of the most profound humility”.

- From the poem Dedication by Charles Baudelaire (William Aggeler, The Flowers of
Evil (Fresno, CA: Academy Library Guild, 1954)

The delicate wash of soft blue in the background lends the painting a touch of lightness and clarity- a style which brings out the poetics of the painter who in turn participates in carefully decorating the artwork with frills that are so much in vogue with mid-19th century Parisian fashion. A touch of the exotic Other is seen in the little black petals that are made sensual with a hue of red almost emitting fragrance like a perfume. The crown on Gautier’s head with an exotic yellow feather is like a jewel. The movement of the lines throughout the painting is like thrill of celebration of this moment of history- the poem appears written on an old paper shaped like drapery. The decorative motifs- the crown with a touch of lilac, the yellow feather and the flower petals have something in common- they are part of furnishings painted with a sense of comic irony to allude to the interior of the hotel Hôtel Pimodan on the Île Saint-Louis where Baudelaire lived during the time he got acquainted with Gautier in mid-1843. The title, “Gautier and Baudelaire as the two flowers of a glorious spring” has a sense of carnivalesque- the role of the master poet and his follower is equally interchangeable and reversible. It is here that Baudelaire has offered his friend, a poem, a crown. The use of soft colours throughout the painting (the wash-effect) gives it a charm that has the lure of a tangible commodity form and the promise of memory.- Joy Roy Choudhury