Théophile Gautier

Théophile Gautier

1811–1872

Théophile Gautier (1811–1872) was a French poet, novelist, critic and travel writer from Tarbes. A flamboyant young Romantic — he wore a red waistcoat to the premiere of Hugo’s Hernani — he became the great champion of “art for art’s sake”.

His collection Émaux et Camées (1852), with its polished short poems such as “L’Art”, prepared the way for the Parnassians; Baudelaire dedicated Les Fleurs du mal to him. His novels include Mademoiselle de Maupin and Le Capitaine Fracasse, and he wrote the scenario of the ballet Giselle.

Best-known poems

All poems (379)

A 60

B 6

C 22

D 11

E 15

F 10

G 1

I 4

J 12

L 141

M 10

N 8

O 1

P 19

Q 3

R 5

S 32

T 6

U 3

V 7

W 2

In Hungarian 1