Charles Baudelaire (1821-67) was a leading poet and novelist in nineteenth who also devoted a considerable amount of his time to criticism. Indeed it was with a Salon review that he made his literary debut: and it is significant that even at this early stage - in 1845 - he was already articulating the need for a painter who could depict the heroism of modern life. This he was to find in Constantin Guys, whom he later celebrated in the famous essay which provides the title-piece for this collection. Other material in this volume includes important and extended studies of three of Baudelaire's contemporary heroes - Delacroix, Poe and Wagner - and some more general articles, such as those on the theory and practice of caricature, and on what Baudelaire, with intentional scorn, called philosophic art. This last article develops views only touched on in Baudelaire's other writings. This volume is extensively illustrated with reproductions of works referred to in the text and otherwise relevant to it. It provides a survey of some of the most important ideas and individuals in the critical world of the great poet who has been called the father of modern art criticism.
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Text: English, French (translation)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By Mike
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
It's convenient to have several key texts of Baudelaire's aesthetic criticism collated in one place rather than as scattered translations printed here and there over the last 40 years. It is especially nice to have so many attractive monochrome plates of Guys's work -- perhaps more than strictly necessary. It's unfortunate that the remarkably thin pages make it distracting at best and challenging at worst to read what Baudelaire was actually writing.
Before I come off as a ranting, blind curmudgeon, let me say that this is -- I believe -- the first time in 12 years of dedicated Amazon purchasing that I have returned a book. My eyes are not what they were when I began buying books from Amazon, of course, but I read for a living and it's not as though my eyes are accustomed to 16-point type. I teach out of Norton anthologies at least once a year and have no problem with Norton's thin pages and small type, but what's happening in this edition is just too intense for me: the dark type bleeds through the onionskin pages; the margins can be measured in millimeters (no marginal notetaking is possible unless you write with a needle dipped in ink); the trim size is pleasantly small, but the font is so reduced that I have to hold the text about a foot from my eyes in order to read it. This would make the experience uncomfortable enough if Baudelaire were writing casual, easy stuff; if you would like the opportunity to concentrate on what he's writing and, ideally, to take some notes here and there, then the formatting of this edition makes that unnecessarily difficult to do.
Before I come off as a ranting, blind curmudgeon, let me say that this is -- I believe -- the first time in 12 years of dedicated Amazon purchasing that I have returned a book. My eyes are not what they were when I began buying books from Amazon, of course, but I read for a living and it's not as though my eyes are accustomed to 16-point type. I teach out of Norton anthologies at least once a year and have no problem with Norton's thin pages and small type, but what's happening in this edition is just too intense for me: the dark type bleeds through the onionskin pages; the margins can be measured in millimeters (no marginal notetaking is possible unless you write with a needle dipped in ink); the trim size is pleasantly small, but the font is so reduced that I have to hold the text about a foot from my eyes in order to read it. This would make the experience uncomfortable enough if Baudelaire were writing casual, easy stuff; if you would like the opportunity to concentrate on what he's writing and, ideally, to take some notes here and there, then the formatting of this edition makes that unnecessarily difficult to do.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Modern versus Contemporary critical reflections/debates on the Arts
February 20, 2007
By D. Powell
Format:Paperback
This book was a historical landmark in the beginnings of modern criticism, and is seen as a pioneering benchmark for artistic reference. Its relevance today is that its poetic language or vernacular manages to engage the reader in a strange relationship with contemporary art criticism, opening up all kinds of possiblities for the artist(s)/curator who wishes to broaden their historical frames of reference. It is then a specialists book that equally throws light onto our times, it is up to the reader of course on how far their imagination can accomodate this. I recommend this book to anyone with an open mind who is curious about how past and present times are constructed, viewed and discussed.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Painter of Modern Life and Other Essays (Arts & Letters)
This is a second edition of a fine essay collection. Alas, it's barely readable. The onionskin on which it is printed is so fine that the reverse side bleeds through. The print itself begs a magnifying glass (well, no - that's a bit exaggerated - but it's very tiny). The gutter size is so miserly that to fully open the book you practically have to break the binding. Forget any marginalia you wish to write - no room in the outside margins. Phaidon (the publisher) - are you listening? I will NEVER buy another book of yours unless I physically see it first. It's a real shame too because the notes are very scholarly, the picture plates are good too.
My advice is to look for this book in its FIRST edition (around 1967) - I found one at the library in paperback. Generous margins, gutter, and print size.
This is a second edition of a fine essay collection. Alas, it's barely readable. The onionskin on which it is printed is so fine that the reverse side bleeds through. The print itself begs a magnifying glass (well, no - that's a bit exaggerated - but it's very tiny). The gutter size is so miserly that to fully open the book you practically have to break the binding. Forget any marginalia you wish to write - no room in the outside margins. Phaidon (the publisher) - are you listening? I will NEVER buy another book of yours unless I physically see it first. It's a real shame too because the notes are very scholarly, the picture plates are good too.
My advice is to look for this book in its FIRST edition (around 1967) - I found one at the library in paperback. Generous margins, gutter, and print size.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Agreed: Terrible second edition of a masterful collection
I agree with the the one star review entirely. This edition is as cheaply made as possible and, sadly, extremely difficult to read as a result. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Orson Welles
5.0 out of 5 stars
Baudelaire's THE PAINTER OF MODERN LIFE Asks What Is Real?
In THE PAINTER OF MODERN LIFE, Charles Baudelaire sets out his theories on current aesthetics in essay format, some dozen of them, ranging from considerations of beauty and fashion... Read more
Published on May 21, 2011 by Martin Asiner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recommend
Have been reading this dreamlike book for years. My recent purchase was as a Christmas present.
Baudelaire orchestrates the debut of an anonymous (but real) cartoonist... Read more
Baudelaire orchestrates the debut of an anonymous (but real) cartoonist... Read more
Published on February 6, 2010 by Charles C. Daly
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