Literary Birthday – 30 August – Théophile Gautier

Théophile Gautier was born on 30 August 1811 and died on 23 October 1872.

Théophile Gautier Quotes

1. Books follow morals, and not morals books.
2. It is a difficult matter to gain the affection of a cat. He is a philosophical, methodical animal, tenacious of his own habits, fond of order and neatness, and disinclined to extravagant sentiment. He will be your friend, if he finds you worthy of friendship, but not your slave.
3. To love is to admire with the heart; to admire is to love with the mind.
4. When we love – we grow.
5. The arts teach and moralise by their beauty alone, not by translating a philosophical or social formula. For the truly artistic person, painting has itself as it’s purpose, which is quite enough.
6. I was born to travel and write verse.
7. The word poet literally means maker: anything which is not well made doesn’t exist.
8. [Great artists] do not copy what they see, but what they desire.
9. Art is beauty, the perpetual invention of detail, the choice of words, the exquisite care of execution.

Théophile Gautier was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, journalist, and art and literary critic. He began his career as part of the Romantic movement but later became a leading advocate of art for art’s sake, arguing that art should be valued for its beauty rather than its moral or practical purpose. Gautier’s vivid imagination is especially clear in his poetry and short fiction. His stories include La Morte amoureuse (1836; ‘The Dead Lover’), a tale about a seductive vampire, and Arria Marcella (1852), which brings ancient Pompeii to life. He also wrote for the theatre and became an influential ballet critic. His work included the ballet Giselle, which remains one of the best-known ballets in the classical repertoire.

Source for image – photographed by Nadar

by Amanda Patterson
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