Théophile Gautier

Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier (August 31, 1811 – October 23,1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist and literary critic.

Related Topics:
August 31 - 1811 - October 23 - 1872 - French - Poet - Dramatist - Novelist - Journalist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was born in Tarbes in the Hautes-Pyrénées département, in the southwestern region of France, and he went to Paris as a small child. He had an idea of becoming a painter, but his inclinations turned him in the direction of poetry, and these ambitions were furthered on meeting Victor Hugo. He also received help from Honoré de Balzac, who gave him work at the Chronique de Paris.

Related Topics:
Tarbes - Hautes-Pyrénées - Département - France - Paris - Victor Hugo - Honoré de Balzac - Chronique de Paris

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gautier belonged, along with the poet Charles Baudelaire and Dr. Jacques-Joseph Moreau, and many other literary and intellectual figures of the day, to a club dedicated to experimenting with drugs, principally hashish, called the Club des Hashischins. In an article published in Revue des Deux Mondes in 1846, Gautier detailed their experiments.

Related Topics:
Charles Baudelaire - Jacques-Joseph Moreau - Hashish - Club des Hashischins - Revue des Deux Mondes - 1846

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He visited Spain in 1840 in the wake of the civil war then being waged. He made a living from journalism although he found the work 'humiliating', seeking and finding escape in travel and poetry. He is remembered for the quote: "Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality."

Related Topics:
Spain - 1840 - Civil war - Reality

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was awarded a membership in the Légion d'honneur for his work on the committee that chose the design for the tomb of Napoleon.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Theophile Gautier died in 1872 and was interred in the Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris.

Related Topics:
Cimetière de Montmartre - Paris

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While he was a prolific poet, travel writer, journalist and wrote several rather well-recieved ballets his fame today is based mostly on his fantastic short stories, such as "The Dead in Love."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~