Interesting facts about Charles Baudelaire's life

Born on 9 April, 1821, Charles Pierre Baudelaire was not only one of the greatest French poets of the 19th century but also a popular precursor of the French symbolist movement. Most famously known for his lyric poetry ‘Les Fleurs du mal’ (The Flowers of Evil), the poet was also an envied essayist, art critic, and a pioneering translator in France.

With the advent of industrialization and the change in the nature of beauty in the urban French metropolis, Baudelaire changed the way people perceived art and reminded artists of their responsibilities to capture the altering times.

Celebrating all his works and literary contributions, here are some interesting facts about the poet that everyone should know.

(Photo: Wikipedia)

Before pursuing literature as a career, Baudelaire opted to study law at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris. He graduated with a degree in 1839. However, he chose not to pursue law and embarked on a literary career instead.

Charles Baudelaire became acquainted with Edgar Allan Poe in 1847 and came across varied themes in Poe’s poetry that he felt a deep connection with. Since then and until 1865, Baudelaire went on to translate Poe’s beautiful works of literature.

In 1841, Baudelaire’s stepfather sent him on a voyage to Calcutta, India, in the hope that the young poet would distance himself from prostitution and dissolute activities.

Apart from his literary contributions, Baudelaire also participated in the French Revolution of 1848 that lead to the overthrow of the constitutional monarchy and wrote for a revolutionary newspaper.

Baudelaire is credited for the coinage of the term ‘Modernity’ in the history of artistic representation. In his 1864 essay "The Painter of Modern Life", he explores the experiences of life in the urban cities and revisits the responsibilities of an artist in depicting those experiences.

11 of Baudelaire’s poems published between 1844 and 1847 in ‘L’Artiste’ were under the name of Privat d’Anglemont, another friend in Baudelaire’s literary circle.

Baudelaire was also a close friend of 19th century French painter Edouard Manet, who included Baudelaire's image in his famous ‘Music in the Tuileries’ painting. Like Baudelaire, Manet also believed in portraying the change in times and the modern life in his artistic expression.