The Arcades Project - Operi

"The rapid overpopulation of the capital had the effect . .. of reducing the surface
area in rooms. Already in his "Salon de 1828,' Stendhal wrote: 'Eight days ago, I
went to look for an apartment on the Rue Godot-de-Mauroy. I was struck by the
smallness of the rooms. The century of painting is over, I said to myseUwith a sigh;
only engraving can prosper. m Amedee Ozenfant, '"La Peinture murale," (in Encyclopedie
jrmu;aise, vol. 16, Arts et litteratures dans la societe contemporaine, 1
, p. 70). [S6a,2]
Baudelaire in his review of Madame Bovary: r.'Realism-a repulsive insult Hung in
the face of every analytie writer, a vague and elastic word which for the ordinary
man signifies not a new means of creation, hut a minute description of trivial
details. H Baudelaire, L 'Art romantique, p. 413.1 6 [S6a,3]
In Chapter 24, "Beaux-Arts," of the Argument du livre sur La Belgique: "Specialists.-One
painter for sunshine, one for snow, one for moonlight, one for furniture,
one for fabrics, one for flowers-and subdivision of specialties ad
infinitum.-Collahoration a necessity, as in industry." Baudelaire, Oeuvres, vol.
2, cd. y'-G. Le Dantec , p. 718. [S6a,4]
"The elevation of urban life to the level of myth signifies right away, for the more
dearheaded, a keen predisposition of modernity. The position which this lattcr
concept occupies in Baudelaire is well known . . . . For him, as he says, it is a
'principal and essential problem,' a question of knowing whether or not his age
possesses 'a specific beauty inherent in our new passions.' We know his answer: it
is the conclusion of that essay which, at least in its range, remains the most considerable
of his theoretic writings: r.The marvelous envelops and permeates us, like
the atmosphere itseU; hut we do not see it. ... For the heroes of the Iliad cannot
compare with you, 0 Vautrin, 0 Rastignac, 0 Birotteau-nor with you, 0 Fontanares,
who darcd not publicly recount your sorrows wearing the funereal and
rumpled frock coat of today; nor with you, 0 Honore de Balzac, you the most
heroic, the most amazing, the most romantic, and the most poetic of all the characters
that you have drawn from your fertile bosom' (Baudelaire, 'Salon de 1846:
section 18)."17 Roger Caillois, "Paris, my the moderne, Nouvelle Revuefrmu;aise,
25, no. 284 (May 1, 1937), pp. 690-691. [S7,1]
In Chapter 24, "Beaux-Arts, ? ' of the Argument du livre sur la Belgique: "'A few
pages on that infamous poseur named Wiertz, a favorite of English cockneys."
Baudelaire, Oeuvres, vol. 2, ed. y'-G. Le Dantec , p. 718. And page
720: "Independent painting.-Wiertz. Charlatan. Idiot. Thief. . . . Wiertz, the
philosopher-painter and litterateur. Modern moonshine. The Christ of humanitarians
. ... Inanity comparable to that of Victor lIugo at the end of Les Contemplations.
Aholition of death's sting, infinite power of humanity. / Inscriptions on
walls. Grave offenses against France and French critics. Wiertz's maxims, ahove
all . ... Brussels the capital of the world. Paris a province. Wiertz's books. Plagiarisms.
He doesn't know how t.o draw, and his stupidity is as massive as his giants.