Gautier, Théophile, << goh tee AY, tay oh FEEL >> (1811-1872), was a French poet, novelist, and critic. His most famous poetry collection, Enamels and Cameos (1852), stresses visual impressions rather than ideas or feelings. One of the poems, “Art,” developed the theory of “art for art’s sake.” It states that art is meant to create only formal beauty and does not depend on moral, intellectual, or emotional values. Gautier opposed the idea of art as imitation and insisted that an artist’s creative imagination or “inner vision” is the main source of inspiration. Gautier’s novels include Mademoiselle de Maupin (1835) and Captain Fracasse (1863).
Gautier was born on Aug. 31, 1811, in Tarbes and died on Oct. 23, 1872. He was an art and drama critic active in the battle to introduce Romantic literature into France. Gautier’s A History of Romanticism (published in 1874, after his death), is an informative study of French Romanticism.
