Name:Paul Gauguin

Age:    54 years

Activity:   painter, ceramic sculptor, graphic artist

Family status:   was married

Paul Gauguin: biography

He was a successful entrepreneur and for several years managed to make a large fortune, which would be enough to support the whole family - his wife and five children. But at one point this man came home and said that he wanted to exchange annoying financial employment for oil paints, brushes and canvas. Thus, he left the exchange and, carried away by his beloved business, was left with nothing.

Now the post-impressionist paintings by Paul Gauguin are estimated at more than one million dollars. For example, in 2015, a painter’s painting entitled “When is the wedding?” (1892), depicting two Tahitian women and a picturesque tropical landscape, was sold at auction for $ 300 million. But it turned out that in life a talented Frenchman, like his colleague in the workshop , and did not receive well-deserved recognition and glory. For the sake of art, Gauguin deliberately doomed himself to the existence of a poor wanderer and exchanged a rich life for outright poverty.

Childhood and youth

The future artist was born in the city of love - the capital of France - on June 7, 1848, at a time of trouble, when the country of Cézanne and Parmesan was waiting for political upheaval, affecting the lives of all citizens - from unremarkable merchants to large entrepreneurs. Paul's father, Clovis, is a native of the petty bourgeoisie of Orleans, who worked as a liberal journalist in the local newspaper Nacional and meticulously covered chronicles of state affairs.

His wife Alina Maria was a native of sunny Peru, grew up and raised in a noble family. Alina’s mother and, accordingly, Gauguin’s grandmother, the illegitimate daughter of the nobleman Don Mariano and Flora Tristan, adhered to the political ideas of utopian socialism, and became the author of critical essays and the autobiographical book Wanderings of the Party. The union of Flora and her husband Andre Chazala ended sadly: the woe-lover attacked his wife and ended up in prison for attempted murder.

Due to political upheavals in France, Clovis, worried about the safety of his family, was forced to flee the country. In addition, the authorities covered the publishing house where he worked, and the journalist was left without a livelihood. Therefore, the head of the family, together with his wife and young children, went on a ship to Peru in 1850.

Gauguin’s father was full of good hopes: he dreamed of settling in the South American state and founding his own newspaper under the auspices of his wife’s parents. But the man’s plans did not succeed, because during the journey Clovis unexpectedly died of a heart attack. Therefore, Alina returned to her widow's homeland with 18-month-old Gauguin and his 2-year-old sister Marie.

Until the age of seven, Paul lived in an ancient South American state, the mountainous picturesque outskirts of which excite the imagination of any person. Behind young Gauguin there was an eye and an eye: on the uncle's estate in Lima, he was surrounded by servants and nurses. Paul retained a vivid memory of that period of his childhood; he recalled with pleasure the boundless expanses of Peru, the impressions of which pursued the gifted artist for the rest of his life.

Gauguin's idyllic childhood in this tropical paradise suddenly ended. Due to Peruvian civil conflicts in 1854, eminent mother relatives lost political power and privileges. In 1855, Alina returned to France with Marie to receive an inheritance from her uncle. The woman settled in Paris and started making bread as a dressmaker, while Paul remained in Orleans, where he was brought up by his paternal grandfather. Thanks to perseverance and work in 1861, the parent of Gauguin became the owner of her own sewing workshop.

After several local schools, Gauguin was sent to the prestigious Catholic boarding school (Petit Seminaire de La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin). Paul was a diligent student, so he excelled in many subjects, but a particularly well-talented young man was given French.

When the future artist was 14 years old, he entered the Paris Naval Preparatory School and was preparing to enter the Naval College. But, fortunately or unfortunately, in 1865, the young man failed exams at the admissions committee, therefore, without losing hope, he hired a pilot as a pilot. Thus, young Gauguin went on a journey through boundless water spaces and for all time traveled to many countries, traveled to South America, on the Mediterranean coast, explored the northern seas.

While Paul was swimming, his mother died of an illness. Gauguin remained in ignorance for several months about a terrible tragedy, until a letter with unpleasant news from his sister overtook him on his way to India. In the will, Alina recommended that the offspring make a career, because, in her opinion, Gauguin, due to obstinate temper, will not be able to rely on friends or relatives in case of trouble.

Paul did not contradict the last will of the mother and in 1871 went to Paris in order to begin an independent life. The young man was lucky, as the mother’s friend Gustave Arosa helped the 23-year-old orphaned boy get out of the mud to riches. Gustave, a stockbroker, recommended Paul to the company, whereby the young man received the position of broker.

Painting

The talented Gauguin excelled in his profession, the man began to have money. Over the ten years of his career, he became a respected man in society and managed to provide his family with a comfortable apartment in the city center. Like his guardian Gustave Arosa, Paul began to buy paintings by famous impressionists, and in his free time, inspired by canvases, Gauguin began to try his talent.

Between 1873 and 1874, Paul created the first vivid landscapes that reflected Peruvian culture. One of the debut works of the young artist - "Forest Thicket in Wiroff" - was exhibited at the Salon and received rave reviews from critics. Soon, the novice master met Camille Pissarro, a French painter. Warm friendly relations were established between these two creative people, Gauguin often went to visit his mentor in the northwestern suburb of Paris - Pontoise.

An artist who hates social life and loves solitude, increasingly spent his free time painting pictures, gradually brokers begin to be perceived not as an employee of a large company, but as a gifted artist. In many respects, the fate of Gauguin was affected by acquaintance with a certain, original representative of the impressionist movement. Degas supports Paul both morally and financially, buying up his expressive canvases.

In search of inspiration and relaxation from the bustling capital of France, the master packed his briefcase and set off on a journey. So he was in Panama, lived with Van Gogh in Arles, visited Brittany. In 1891, recalling a happy childhood spent in his mother’s homeland, Gauguin leaves for Tahiti - a volcanic island, the vastness of which gives vent to imagination. He admired the coral reefs, dense jungle where juicy fruits grow, and azure sea coasts. Paul tried to convey all the natural paints he saw on the canvases, due to which Gauguin's creations turned out to be original and bright.

The artist watched what was happening around and peeped with a sensitive artistic gaze captured in his works. So, the plot of the picture “Are you jealous?” (1892) appeared before the eyes of Gauguin in reality. The newly-bathing two Tahitian sisters lay down in laid-back poses ashore under the scorching sun. From a girl’s dialogue about love, Gauguin heard contention: “How? Are you jealous!". Later, Paul admitted that this canvas is one of his favorite creations.

In the same 1892, the master wrote a mystical painting “The spirit of the dead does not sleep”, made in dark, mysterious purple tones. The viewer sees a naked Tahitian woman lying on the bed, and behind her the spirit in a gloomy robe. The fact is that once in an artist’s lamp the oil ran out. He struck a match to light the space, thereby scaring Tehura. Paul began to wonder if this girl could take the artist not as a person, but as a ghost or spirit, which the Tahitians are very afraid of. These mystical thoughts of Gauguin inspired him the plot of the picture.

A year later, the master paints another picture called "Woman Holding a Fruit." Following his own style, Gauguin signs this masterpiece with a second Maori name Euhaereiaoe (“Where are you going?”). In this work, as in all the works of Paul, man and nature are static, as if merging together. Initially, this canvas was acquired by a Russian merchant, now the work is in the walls of the State Hermitage. Among other things, the author of The Sewing Woman in the last years of his life wrote the book Noah Noah, published in 1901.

Personal life

Paul Gauguin in 1873 made a marriage proposal to the Danish Matte-Sophie Gad, who agreed and gave her lover four children: two boys and two girls. Gauguin adored his first-born Emil, who was born in 1874. Many canvases of the master of brushes and paints are decorated with the image of a serious boy who, judging by the work, was fond of reading books.

Unfortunately, the family life of the great impressionist was not cloudless. The master’s paintings were not sold and did not bring former income, and the artist’s wife did not hold the opinion that it’s a nice paradise and in a hut. Due to the plight of Paul, who could hardly make ends meet, quarrels and conflicts often arose between spouses. After arriving in Tahiti, Gauguin married a young local beauty.

Death

While Gauguin was in Papeete, he worked very productively and managed to write about eighty paintings, which are considered the best on his track record. But fate was preparing a talented man for new obstacles. Gauguin could not get recognition and fame among fans of creativity, so he plunged into depression.

Because of the black streak that came in his life, Paul repeatedly attempted suicide. The mental state of the artist gave rise to oppression of health, the author of "Breton Village under the Snow" fell ill with leprosy. The great master died on the island of May 9, 1903 at the age of 54 years.

Unfortunately, as often happens, fame came to Gauguin only after death: three years after the death of the master, his paintings were put on public display in Paris. In memory of Paul in 1986, the film "The Wolf on the Doorstep" was shot, where the role of the artist was played by the famous Hollywood actor. The British novelist also wrote a biographical work, “The Moon and the Penny,” where Paul Gauguin became the prototype of the protagonist.

Artworks

• 1880 - The Sewing Woman
• 1888 - "Vision after the Sermon"
• 1888 - "Cafe in Arles"
• 1889 - The Yellow Christ
• 1891 - "Woman with a Flower"
• 1892 - “The spirit of the dead does not sleep”
• 1892 - “Are you jealous?”
• 1893 - A Woman Holding a Fruit
• 1893 - “Her name was Vairaumati”
• 1894 - "Fun of the evil spirit"
• 1897–1898 - “Where did we come from?” Who are we? Where are we going?"
• 1897 - Never Again
• 1899 - "Harvesting the Fruit"
• 1902 - "Still Life with Parrots"

Paul Verlaine (03/30/1844, Metz - 8.01.1896, Paris), French poet. Born in the family of an officer. He began to write under the influence of Parnassians, but also romantics and Charles Baudelaire.
Verlaine is one of the founders of the symbolist trend. In “Saturn Poems” (1866) and “Gallant Festivities” (1869), along with strictly sculpted images in the manner of Parnassians, there are singing, melancholic, dull-sounding verses characteristic of Verlaine.
  In the poetry book “A Song of Pure Love” (1870), Verlaine brings the vocabulary and syntax of poetic speech closer to simple conversation.
  In 1871, Verlaine did not obey the Versailles, remained in Paris and served in the press bureau of the Paris Commune. After the “bloody week” until 1877, he lived mainly in the provinces, leaving for Belgium and England.
  In 1874 he published a book of poems “Romances without words,” which largely determined the aesthetics of symbolism. Sincere, unpretentious songs alternated with verses there, symbolically conveying the minor sound and rhythm of the pointless longing and humility to her. In the poem “Poetic art”

Verlaine half-jokingly advised to achieve the alluring imagination of inaccuracy, nuances, musicality of the verse.
  The collections of poems “Far and Close” (1884), “Parallel” (1889), articles about Arthur Rimbaud, Stefan Mallarm and others (“Cursed Poets”, 1884) are dual. Decreasing tendencies intensify here, but at the same time, the poet warns his new supporters from decadent extremes and publishes revolutionary poems (the poem “The Conquered” in the collection “Far and Close”). “The most intimate of poets”, according to Valery Bryusov, Verlaine was more humane than other French Symbolists, he enriched poetry with subtle lyricism, giving it intense musical expressiveness. He died in poverty.

Those who read the novel by the English writer Somerset Maugham “Moon and Penniless” may have noticed that the story of the main character of the work - the artist Strickland - strangely reminds the life of the French painter Paul Gauguin. And it’s not just reminiscent of, but practically coincides. Although critics, puzzled by this problem for several decades, are still arguing and cannot come to a single point of view. Nevertheless, with a high degree of certainty, it can be argued that Paul Gauguin became the prototype of Strickland. And the life of this artist is truly amazing.

Family. early years

Paul Gauguin was born on one of the revolutionary days of 1848. His father was an employee of the Nacional newspaper, which has a moderately republican direction. The revolution, which changed the political course of the country, forced the journalist in 1849 to leave his homeland. But on the way to South America, right on the ship, he suddenly overtook death. The widow and children did not live long in a foreign land and in 1855 returned to France.

Paul Gauguin studied in closed schools, where he was arranged for the sake of saving a meager family budget. The atmosphere in these schools was unbearable for him. He endured and rushed the time so that the hated study ended soon and he could finally fulfill his dream of becoming a sailor. The dream came true: at the age of 17 he went to serve as a sailor on a merchant ship, and then transferred to the navy.

In Paris

  After the “maritime period” of youth and his return to Paris, the guardian appointed Paul Gauguin to work at the bank as a simple employee. This circumstance contributed to his independent position. Now he spent all his free time in museums, studying the painting of masters. Interest in art arose unexpectedly and inexplicably. In any case, the monotonous, gray life of a bank clerk could not provoke such a strange zigzag in his mind. But it happened.

Paul locked himself in, lost all interest in everything ordinary, everyday. He was now obsessed with a crazy passion - to paint. To do this, he entered the private academy of Colarossi.

First work

Finally, the first paintings by Gauguin appeared at Parisian exhibitions: Susanna, Hay at the Jena Bridge, Garden under the Snow (1875 - 1883). In the manner of execution, they were close to impressionism. Later, Gauguin was carried away by the aesthetics of the Symbolists, who made an emotional emphasis on color and line, and abandoned the impressionistic manner of decomposing colors. In 1887, Gauguin left on about. Martinique to focus and hone your writing style. And the paintings written there already demonstrate the decorativeness of color and the emphasized expressiveness of the silhouette. These basic features determine the recognizable style of Gauguin.

Improvement

At the next stage of his life, Gauguin finally quit banking and became engaged exclusively in art, despite the extreme need. Living in Brittany (1888), he painted nature and people of the province, where the everyday features of antiquity were preserved ("Still Life with Puppies", "Old Maidens in Arles", "Arles Cafe"). They also have special compositional techniques inspired by Japanese engraving. In 1889 - 1890, Gauguin continued to improve his style. In his paintings “Ricks”, “Beautiful Angela”, “Hello, Mr. Gauguin!”, “Yellow Christ”, melancholy and fatigue caused by poverty and unrecognition show through.

In tahiti

In 1891, Gauguin left for Tahiti - this was his old dream. There he worked a lot and fruitfully, lived the most natural life among the simple-minded natives. In Tahiti, he painted his best paintings: “Conversation”, “The Spirit of the Dead Awake,” “Are You Jealous?”, “A Woman Holding a Fruit” and others. He still returned to France (1893) to arrange his exhibition. Friends - the artists were delighted with his new works, but the salon audience did not accept such a Gauguin.

Two years later, he forever left his homeland and returned to his beloved Tahiti. His work acquired the features of a religious-mystical trend, but he also wrote a lot of Tahitians. His work and lifestyle did not satisfy the colonial power, and it, as it could, prevented him from living. In addition, Gauguin began to go blind. But even already seriously ill and almost blind, he continued to write.

Gauguin died on May 9, 1903, whether from a heart attack, whether it was suicide, or murder. There was a morphine syringe next to his bed, which could indicate any version. His paintings, written in Tahiti, and with which he paid to local merchants, were laid under his feet instead of rugs, used for dog bedding, cut into pieces to patch holey shoes. And all that remained after the artist’s death in the hut was simply thrown into the trash.

Biography

Paul Marie Verlaine (fr. Paul Marie Verlaine, 1844-1896) - French poet, one of the founders of literary impressionism and symbolism.

Paul-Marie was born March 30, 1844 in Metz in the family of Nicolas-Auguste Verlaine, captain of the engineering forces, and Eliza-Julie-Joseph-Stephanie Dehe. In early childhood, the Verlaine family often moved due to the garrison service of his father (Metz, Montpellier, Nimes, Seth and again Metz).

In 1851, Paul's father resigned, and the family settled in the Paris suburb of Batignell. In 1853 Verlaine entered the Landry boarding house (Chaptal street, 32). In 1855 he entered the seventh (elementary) class of the Lyceum Bonaparte (future Condorcet).

In 1858, Verlaine begins to write poetry, gets acquainted with the poetry of Hugo, Banville, Gauthier, Baudelaire, Leconte de Lily, Glatigny, sends Victor Hugo the poem "Death" (December 12).

Since 1860, Verlaine began to be friends with Edmond Lepeliete, his future executor and biographer. In 1862, the financial situation of the family worsened due to unsuccessful contributions. Verlaine receives a bachelor's degree in literature (with honors in Latin), enters the School of Law and is engaged in arithmetic, hoping to pass the exam at the Ministry of Finance. Starts drinking and visiting brothels. Read by Buchner's "Force and Matter". In 1863 he met the poet and critic Louis-Xavier de Ricard; in the republican salon of the Marquise de Ricard (10 Batignolles Boulevard) Verlaine   - Theodore de Banville, Auguste Villiers de Lille-Adan, Francois Coppe, Katul Mendes, Sully Prudom, Jose Maria Heredia. In August of the same year, Verlaine’s first publication in Ricard’s journal “Review of Progress” (sonnet “Mr. Prudom”) was published.

1864 - January-March. Verlaine works in an insurance company, then in the city hall of the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Throws classes at the School of Law. Autumn winter. He visits the circle of Katull Mendes (Prudom, Villiers de Lil-Adan, Leon Dierks, Heredia, Albert Glatigny).

1865 - Verlaine works as a forwarder at the City Hall of Paris. November December. Verlaine publishes an essay on Baudelaire and several poems in Ricard’s new journal Art. He meets the publisher Alfons Lehmer, in whose bookstore (47 Choiselle passage) future Parnassians gather. He attends the evenings of Theodore de Banville in his apartment on Conde Street. December 30th. Death of father.

1866 - January. Verlaine and her mother move to Lekluse street, 26. March. The first issue of the contemporary Parnassus almanac (publisher Alfons Lehmer). April 28th. Eight poems by Verlaine are published in the ninth book of Modern Parnassus (read by the twelve-year-old Rambo). November. There is a collection of "Saturnian verses" (publisher Alfons Lehmer).

1867 - February 16. The death of Eliza Dujardin (nee Moncomble), the cousin of Verlaine and his childhood friends, remaining an orphan, Eliza was brought up by Verlaine's parents. After her marriage, she helped Verlaine financially in publishing his first poetry collection. Verlaine is suffering a loss, looking for oblivion in absinthe. July 25th. Verlaine begins to collaborate with the satirical journalist of the publicist and future communard Eugene Vermeersch "May bug". 12th of August. Verlaine was warmly received by Victor Hugo in Brussels. August 31. Charles Baudelaire dies in Paris. September 2. Verlaine is present at Baudelaire’s funeral in the Montparnasse cemetery. December. In Brussels, under the pseudonym Pablo de Erlanjez, Verlaine's plaque “Girlfriends, Sapphic Love Scenes” is published (publisher Auguste Poule-Malassi).

1868 - Together with the Parnassians Verlaine, a patron of the salon of Nina de Villar (17 Chaptal street); among the guests of the salon - Berlioz, Wagner, Manet. the 6th of May. The city court of Lille decides to confiscate and destroy the Girlfriend circulation, and sentenced the publisher to 500 fine francs. August. Verlaine spends a vacation with relatives in Palisel (Belgium).

1869 - February. The collection “Gallant festivities” is published (publisher Alfons Lehmer). March 22. Verlaine and her mother travel to Palisel for the aunt's funeral; Verlaine is drunk, his family and local authorities call him to order; Madame Verlaine decides to marry her son to one of the Paliselian cousins. June. Musician from the salon of Nina Charles de Sivri introduces Verlaine to his cousin Matilda Mote de Fleuville. July. Madame Verlaine takes her son to relatives in Fanpu (Ardennes) and returns to Paris. Verlaine is drinking. July 18-20. In a letter to Charles de Sivri, Verlaine asks for the hands of Matilda Mote (partly to avoid the Paliselian cousin), the answer is restrainingly encouraging (the father of fifteen-year-old Matilda has to be persuaded for a long time); Verlaine stops drinking and starts courtship. Autumn winter. On Tuesdays Verlaine receives friends (Coppe, Charles and Antoine Cro, Lepeliete, Ricard, Sivri, Valad, Matilda).

1870 - June. The Good Song collection dedicated to Matilda (publisher Alfons Lehmer will go on sale in January 1872). 11th August. The wedding of Paul and Matilda in Notre Dame de Clinyancourt (in Montmartre); newlyweds settle on Cardinal Lemoine street, 2. July-September. Franco-Prussian war. August 22nd. In a letter to his teacher, Georges Isambard, Rimbaud admires the “Gallant festivities” and “The Good Song”. September 2. Sedan disaster. 4 September. Proclamation of the Republic; general mobilization; Verlaine volunteers for the National Guard.

1871 - January. Prussian troops besiege Paris; bombing of the capital; Paul and Matilda move to Saint-Germain Boulevard, where they arrange a salon (among the new guests are the poet Eugene Peletan, artist Felix Regame, composer Ernest Cabane). March may. Paris Commune; Despite Thier’s order forbidding officials to enter the service, Verlaine under the Commune continues to work in the city hall, in the press department. Paul and Matilda return to Cardinal Lemoine Street; after the fall of the Commune, fearing denunciations, they leave for Verlaine's relatives in Fanpu and Lecluse. August. Returning to Paris, settling in the house of Mothe on Nicole street, 14. End of August - beginning of September. Letters from Arthur Rimbaud to Verlaine (poems and a request for support). September. Verlaine invites Rimbaud to Paris and pays his way. 10 September. Rimbaud in Paris; he settles at Mote, from where he will soon be expelled for rudeness and uncleanliness; Rimbaud lives in turn with Banville, Charles Cro, composer Cabane, artist Foren. Verlaine and Rimbaud take part in the meetings of the literary circles “Mean Boys” and “The Traitors”, they get drunk, their friendship grows, as they put it, into the “cruel passion” of two poets. The end of October. Verlaine's first quarrel with Matilda over Rimbaud, who is trying to wrest the Poet-Verlaine from the suffocating petty-bourgeois atmosphere of the Mote family;

October 30. Birth of Georges Verlaine, son of Paul and Matilda. The end of December. At the “Mean Boys” dinner, Rambo scandals and easily injures the photographer Karzá with his cane-sword; Rimbaud expelled from the circle; Verlaine rents a room for him on Campan-Premier 14.

1872 - January. Henri Fantin-Latour paints a picture "Table Corner", on which, among other Parnassians, portrays Verlaine and Rimbaud. 13th of January. Quarrel between Paul and Matilda; Verlaine beats his wife and threatens to kill his son; Verlaine hides in his mother’s apartment for several days. Mid January. Matilda takes Georges to relatives in Perigueux. Verlaine settles at Rambo on Campaign-Premier Street. January 20th. Verlaine writes a letter to Matilda asking him to forgive him. The beginning of February. The Mote de Fleuville family begins the divorce proceedings. March. Verlaine promises Matilda to break with Rimbaud; Rimbaud, at the request of Verlaine, was leaving for Charleville; divorce proceedings suspended; Verlaine returns to his wife, but continues to secretly correspond with Rambo. Verlaine takes a job at an insurance company. April. Verlaine asks Rambo to return. The beginning of May. Drunk Verlaine abducts little Georges and carries him to his mother; the next morning, Matilda calls on her attorney to resume the divorce proceedings. May 18th. Rimbaud returns to Paris. May June. Verlaine threatens to kill Matilda several times. Verlaine and Rimbaud, having fun, fight on knives; Verlaine explains his wounds with fencing lessons. July 7th. Verlaine goes for a doctor for the sick Matilda and meets Rambo; they decide to immediately leave Paris for Arras, where they fall into the gendarmerie, which sends them back; in Paris they transfer to another train and travel to Brussels. In France, brutal persecution continues of those who, during the time of the Commune, collaborated with the authorities or simply continued to work in institutions, many of Verlaine's acquaintances and friends ended up in prison, Verlaine is under suspicion of the new government and is in serious danger, he is constantly being monitored, fleeing persecution, he decides to flee abroad. July. Verlaine and Rimbaud roam in Belgium. 21 July. Matilda, accompanied by her mother, travels to Brussels to return Paul; they almost succeed, but Verlaine throws them at the border station and, together with Rimbaud, who secretly rides on the same train, returns to Brussels. September 7-9. Verlaine and Rimbaud go to London (settle at 34-35 Howland Street). December. Rambo's mother, having learned that Mothe is accused of homosexual relations with Verlaine, orders his son to return to Charleville; Rambo obeys. Verlaine falls ill, calls to his mother and Rambo.

1873 - Beginning of January. Verlaine's mother comes to London. Mid January. Rimbaud arrives in London (Verlaine's mother pays for him). The beginning of February. Madame Verlaine returns to Paris. The end of March. Verlaine wants to return to Paris and make peace with Matilda. April, 4. Verlaine leaves for Belgium, first to abbot Delaunay's familiar mother in Namur, from where he writes to Matilda asking for a meeting and reconciliation (in response, Matilda asks not to bother her with letters), then to Geonville to her relatives, where she ends “Songs without Words” and learns English . April 9-10. Rimbaud returns to Charleville, where he begins Summer in Hell. May 24-25. Verlaine and Rimbaud go to London and settle in two small rooms on the top floor of house number 8 on Great College Street (now it is Royal College Street, 8). June. Verlaine again wants to return to Matilda; constant quarrels with Rimbaud. 4th of July. After another quarrel, Verlaine leaves for Brussels, leaving Rambo without money, and settles in the Liège hotel, from Brussels he writes letters to his wife, mother and Rambo, threatening suicide. 5'th of July. Verlaine's mother arrives in Brussels. July 8. Rimbaud arrives in Brussels; he insists on his return to Paris, Verlaine v. July 10th. In the morning, Verlaine buys a revolver and gets drunk; at about three in the afternoon at the hotel Verlaine shoots at Rimbaud and wounds him in the wrist; Verlaine and his mother take Rimbaud to the hospital; Rimbaud continues to insist on his departure; Verlaine and his mother escort him to the station; Verlaine threatens to shoot himself on the road; the frightened Rimbaud rushes to the policeman for help; Verlaine’s arrest, despite the fact that Rimbaud refuses all his charges. July 11th. Verlaine is placed in the Little Carmelites Pretrial Prison. July 20. Rimbaud returns to Charleville, to the Roche farm, where he ends the “Summer in Hell”. 8 August. A Brussels court sentenced Verlaine to two years in prison. August 27th. Verlaine transferred to solitary confinement in Mons.

1874 - March. Through the efforts of Edmond Lepeliete, “Songs without Words” (typography by Maurice Lermit) is published in Sansa. Division of property with Matilda; Verlaine sentenced to pay alimony; he is experiencing a religious crisis, confesses.

1875 - January 16. The liberation of Verlaine. February. The last meeting of Verlaine and Rimbaud in Stuttgart; Verlaine's religiosity annoys Rimbaud; Rimbaud asks Verlaine to hand over the manuscript of Insights to the poet Germain Nouveau (with whom he traveled to England in the spring of 1874) for a possible publication. March. Verlaine leaves for England; arranged by an elementary school teacher in Stickney. Meets in London with Germain Nouveau and gives him "Insights" (Nouveau will return them to Verlaine in the fall of 1877, not finding the publisher). October. Verlaine sends his poems to Paris for publication in the third issue of Modern Parnassus, but his former colleagues, led by Anatole France, refuse him this honor. 12 December. Verlaine's last letter to Rimbaud.

1876-1877 - Verlaine teaches Latin, French and painting in Stickney, Boston and Bournemouth.

1877 - October. Verlaine returns to France. Arranges as a teacher at Catholic College in Retel. There he meets Lucien Letinois and actually adopts him.

1878 - Spring-Summer. Verlaine twice sees his son, unsuccessfully trying to resume relations with Matilda.

1879 - The end of summer. Verlaine gets drunk in the company of his students, moreover, it turns out that he has a criminal record; Verlaine leaves Rethel and leaves for London with Letinois.

1880 - March. Verlaine buys a farm in Junville in the name of Letinua's parents and settles there next to the Lucien family, who is engaged in agriculture. December. The collection “Wisdom” is published (publisher Victor Palme).

1882 - As a result of the unsuccessful conduct of affairs by the parents of Letinua, the farm in Junville is sold for debts. July. Verlaine returns to Paris to establish literary relations and unsuccessfully tries to get a place in the city hall (lives in a hotel in the Bois de Boulogne district at 5 Parshan Street).

1883 - April 7. Lucien Letinois suddenly dies of typhoid. Verlaine is hard going through his death, later he will devote to him a series of 25 piercing verses, mourning the untimely death of his adoptive son, they will be included in the collection "Love". July-September. Verlaine's mother buys a farm in Kulom from Lucien's parents and moves there with her son. Verlaine drinks again.

1884 - March. Wannier publishes a collection of Verlaine's essays on Arthur Rimbaud, Tristan Corbiere, and Stefan Mallarm, entitled "Cursed Poets." November. The collection “Long and Recently” (published by Leon Wannier) is published.

1885 - February. After a quarrel, Verlaine's mother hides from his neighbors; Verlaine bursts into the neighbors, rages, threatens to commit suicide if she does not return home; Madame Verlaine sues her son. March 8. Verlaine is selling a house in Kulom. March 24. The Vouzier court sentenced Verlaine to a month in prison and a fine of 500 francs. May. Officially framed divorce Verlaine and Matilda. July. Verlaine and her mother are moving to Paris (they live in a dead end of Saint-Francois, 6 - Morot Street, 5). August. Due to arthritis, Verlaine cannot walk. November. Verlaine is working on a series of literary portraits of People of Our Day. The harbinger of glory: the first song to Verlaine’s poems (Ernest Amedei Chausson - to the poem “And the month is white ...”, Sat. “Good song”); literary caricature of Verlaine in the parody collection by Henri Bockler and Gabriel Vicker "Formlessness, decadent poems by Adore Flupet."

1886 - January. Gustave Kahn and Jean Moreas found the Symbolist newspaper. January 21. Mother is dying. Matilda seeks a settlement agreement by which she pays Paul’s debts, and takes the inheritance of Madame Verlaine (20,000 francs) at the expense of unpaid child support; Verlaine is left without a livelihood. February. Aunt Verlaine dies, he inherits 2,400 francs. February March. Verlaine's connection with the prostitute Marie Gambier; when the inheritance runs out, Marie throws Verlaine. Spring. Verlaine meets with the artist and coupletist Frederick-Auguste Casals, (their friendship will continue until Verlaine's death). April 10th. The first issue of the Decadent newspaper is Anatole Baju and Maurice du Plessis. September 18th. Moreas publishes a manifesto of symbolism in the literary supplement to the Figaro newspaper, in which Verlaine is called the forerunner of a new poetry school (along with Baudelaire and Mallarmé). October November. The publishing house of Leon Wannier is the prose of Verlaine's “Memoirs of the Widower” and “Louise Leclerc”. October 30. Matilda marries Bianwen-Auguste Delport and, in connection with the change of family name, lifts the ban on the publication of Rambo's Insights, which had been imprudently left by Verlaine in the fall of 1877 for storage by Charles de Sivri (cousin of Matilda). November 1886 - March 1887. Verlaine lies in the hospital.

1887 - Verlaine wanders from hospital to hospital. September. Meets a prostitute Filomena Boudin, who becomes his mistress.

1888 - January. Jules Lemaitre publishes in the Blue Journal an article entitled Paul Verlaine, Symbolists and Decadents. March. The collection “Love” is published (publisher Leon Wannier). Verlaine settles in a hotel on 14 Ruyet-Collard, then moves to a hotel on 216 Saint-Jacques; arranges literary "environments" at home. August. The second edition of “accursed poets”, supplemented by essays on Marceline Debord-Valmore, Auguste Villiers de Lil-Adane and “poor Lelian” (Pauvre Lélian - anagram named after Paul Verlaine). November 1888 - February 1889. At the hospital. Charles Maurice publishes a book, Paul Verlaine, with Wannier.

1889 - February. Verlaine settles in a hotel on Vaugirard street, 4, resumes "Wednesday." June. The collection “In parallel” is published (publisher Leon Wannier). July August. In the hospital. Aug. Sept. At the expense of friends he is treated at a resort in Aix-les-Bains. September 1889 - February 1890. At the hospital.

1890 - February. Verlaine settles at Philomena on the street of Saint-Jacques. July. The Ministry of Education pays Verlaine a allowance of 200 francs. December. The collection of “Initiations” is published (publisher Leon Wannier); In Brussels, a collection of erotic poems by Verlaine's "Women" (publisher Cisteckers) is clandestinely published.

1891 - January-February. In the hospital. May. At the performance of Verlaine and Paul Gauguin, the “Theater of Art” presents Verlaine’s play “One and the Other”. Verlaine meets Eugenie Krantz, a former dancer, friend of Philomena; Eugenie becomes Verlaine's mistress and soon ruins him. May June. The collection “Happiness” and the play “One and the Other” (published by Leon Wannier) are published, and the Selected Poems by Verlaine are published by Faskell (series Charpentier Library). October 1891 - January 1892. At the hospital. November. Verlaine's autobiographical prose, My Hospitals (published by Leon Wannier), is released. 10th of November. In Marseille, Arthur Rimbaud dies of a sarcoma. December. The collection “Songs for Her” is published (publisher Leon Wannier).

1892 - January-February. After leaving the hospital, he lives with Eugénie for a while; as soon as the money runs out, Eugenie throws Verlaine. April. In the “Holy Grail Library” series, a collection of “Secret Treasures” is published. August-October. In the hospital. November 2-14. At the invitation of Dutch writers, Verlaine travels to Holland with lectures on literature. December 1892 - January 1893. At the hospital.

1893 - January. Verlaine and Eugenie settle on the street Foss-Saint-Jacques, 9. February-March. At the invitation of Belgian writers, Verlaine travels to Belgium with lectures on literature. May June. The collections of Elegy, Odes in Her Honor and the autobiographical prose My Prisons (published by Leon Wannier) are published. June-November. In the hospital; erysipelas on the left leg, regular puncture; Verlaine's hospital visits Philomena. August. Verlaine nominates his candidacy for the French Academy in place of the late Hippolytus Ten. October. Verlaine doesn't get Ten's chair. November. Verlaine moves to Filomena. November December. At the invitation of English writers, Verlaine went with lectures to London, Oxford and Manchester. December. Verlaine’s lecture book, “Two Weeks in Holland,” is published (published by Blok and Wannier). Verlaine moves to Eugénie on 187 Saint-Jacques.

1894 - April. Verlaine moves to Filomena. May. The collection “In the Limb” is published (publisher Leon Wannier). May-July. In the hospital; trying to restore relations with Eugenie. August. Elected by the “prince of poets" instead of the deceased Charles Leconte de Lille; Verlaine's friends, led by Maurice Barres and Robert de Montesquieu-Fezansac, set a monthly pension for him (150 francs); The Ministry of Education pays Verlaine a benefit of 500 francs (two of the same benefits will be paid in February and September 1895). October. The production of Verlaine's play "Madame Aubin" in the cafe "Prokop". Verlaine drops Eugenie and moves to Filomena. December. The publishing house of the magazine "La Plume" (series "Literary and Art Library") published a collection of "Epigrams." December 1894 - January 1895. At the hospital.

1895 - February. Verlaine moves to Eugenie. May. At the end of the century, Verlaine's Confession is published. September. Together with Eugénie, he moves to Descartes Street, 39. Verlaine’s condition worsens sharply. October. Complete works of Arthur Rimbaud with a preface by Verlaine.

1896 - January 7. Verlaine confesses. He falls out of bed at night, Eugenie cannot lift him, and Verlaine spends the whole night on the cold floor. January 8. Verlaine dies of pneumonia. January 10th. A funeral service at the Church of Saint-Etienne-du-Monts and a solemn funeral at the Batignolles cemetery. February. In the series "Literary and Art Library" there is a collection of "Flesh." December. The collection “Invectives” is published (publisher Leon Wannier).

1899 - The complete works of Verlaine come out in five volumes (publisher Leon Wannier).

1904 - Verlaine's collection of erotic poems “Hombres” (“Men”, publisher Albert Messen, heir to Wannier) is clandestinely published.

1907 - Verlaine's book of notes, Frenchman's Journey through France, published by Albert Messen, is published.

1911 - May 28. A monument to Verlaine by Auguste de Niederhausern-Rodo opens in the Luxembourg Gardens.

1913 - The Biblio-Sonnets compilation (publisher Henri Flury) is released.

1926 - The first volume of unpublished works by Verlaine (publisher Baudinier) comes out.

1929 - The second and third volumes of unpublished works by Verlaine (publisher Albert Messen) are published.

Verlaine's Poetry

“Verlaine was clearer than his disciples,” wrote M. Gorky, “in his always melancholic and deeply melancholy verses, a cry of despair was clearly heard, the pain of a sensitive and tender soul that longs for light, longs for purity, seeks God and does not find, wants to love people and can’t. ”

Verlaine's poetic work began in the tradition of the Parnassian school. His youthful poems affected the desire for clarity of images, sculptural speech. But already in Verlaine's first mature collections, Saturnic Poems (or Saturnalia; 1866) and Galant Celebrations (1869), through the traditional form, one can vaguely discern new strange images.

“Saturnic poems” open with an appeal to the “wise men of old”, who taught that those who are born under the sign of the constellation Saturn have restless imagination, lack of will, vainly pursue the ideal and experience a lot of grief. Through the mask of an objective sage put on himself, the features of the generation of the end of the century and Verlaine's own face were clearly visible.

The very images of "Saturnic poems" were sometimes bifurcated. The usual suddenly turned in an unexpected direction - smoke painted strange shapes in the sky:

The moon stained the walls
The corner is dull.
Like the number five, bent back,
Black smoke rose over the sharp roof.
The wind languished, like a groan of a bassoon.
There was a firmament
Colorless gray. On the roof, calling for someone
Meow plaintively, faded cat.
And I, - I walked, dreaming of Plato,
In the evening hour
About Salamis and the Marathon ...
And gas flashed with blue thrill.
- “Paris sketch”, translation by V. Bryusov

Images in tints of light and shadow broke before our eyes: She played with a cat. Strange
In the shadow gathering around
Suddenly an essay appeared unexpectedly
Either white paws, then white hands.
One of them, angry furtively,
Caressed her mistress
Melting under a silk glove
Agate ruthless claws.
Another was also angry
And the beast smiled sweetly ...
But the Devil was here, keeping them.
And in the dark bedroom, on the bed
Under the loud female laugh, burned
Four phosphorus lights.
- “Woman and Cat”, translation by V. Bryusov

The second poetic collection "Gallant festivities" depicted the sophisticated entertainment of the XVIII century. The lyrics and irony intertwined intricately in this book, like Watteau, the French artist of the beginning of the 18th century, on the canvases of which ladies and gentlemen play an exquisite and slightly sad performance:

Looking into your soul through tender eyes,
I would see an exquisite landscape there,
Where fancy masks roam with lutes,
With the Marquise Pierro and with Columbine a page.
They sing love and praise voluptuousness,
But in a minor way the chorus of a string sounds
And it seems they don’t believe in happiness themselves,
And their song is merged with the radiance of the moon.
With the moon shining, sad and beautiful
In which, drunk, the nightingale sings to them,
And the stream cries in languor in vain
A brilliant stream falling into a water cannon.
- translation by V. Bryusov

The deliberately whimsical construction of the verses of the first two collections, the bizarre, the vagueness of the reflected images, the attention to the musical sound of the lines prepared the appearance of Verlaine's best poetic book, Romances without Words (1874). The very name of the collection indicates Verlaine's desire to strengthen the music of the verse. According to the teachings of Plato, musical harmony should bind a person’s soul to the Universe, and Verlaine sought through music to know the creature living in him. Such a path seemed to Verlaine innovative and the only right one. Almost simultaneously, in the poem "Poetic Art" he put forward the requirement of musicality as the basis of impressionist poetics: "Music is above all."

“Romances without words” are not connected by a single theme. Here and love lyrics, urban motifs, and especially the theme of nature. Whatever Verlaine writes about, everything is colored by his melancholy, his obscure longing. Verlaine's view of the world resembles the landscapes of impressionist artists. He also liked to portray rain, fogs, evening twilight, when a random ray of light captures only part of an obscure picture. Drawing, for example, a trip to the garden, Verlaine only names the objects that he sees. But they do not exist separately from the light in which they bathe, from the trembling of the air that surrounds them. The existence of things is important to Verlaine not in their material, not in their voluminous forms, but in what animates them - in their mood. In Verlaine's poetry we observe the dematerialization of things.

Verlaine did not strive for a holistic reproduction of the material world. In The Romance Without Words, the poet finally abandoned the traditions of the Parnassians - the vivid decorative and graphic accuracy of their drawing, and historical paintings. Verlaine rarely addressed a consistent story. There are almost no events in his poems. If they sometimes appeared at Verlaine, they were dressed in foggy flair or in the form of a stylized fairy tale, in view of a series of images, one after another, as they were drawn to his inner gaze. It was as if he consciously turned away from real sources in the world and in the history of people in order to turn to his heart.

Even the nature so often praised by Verlaine, the impressionist landscapes of his poems were essentially landscapes of the poet’s soul.

The attitude of the lyrical hero Verlaine to nature is very difficult. Nature is so close to the poet that he often moves away for a while, is replaced by a landscape, so that he can come to life again. Verlaine’s personal penetration into nature is so high that, walking along the plains praised by him, along the streets of the outskirts saturated with spring air, peering out of the window into the lilac twilight with the poet, listening to the monotonous noise of the rain, we are essentially not dealing with paintings and by the voices of nature, but with the psychology of Verlaine himself, who has merged his soul with a sad and beautiful world.

Verlaine’s landscape is no longer a traditional backdrop or accompaniment to human experiences. The world itself is likened to the passions and sufferings of the poet. Such a shift in emphasis was caused in Verlaine not by the power of his passions, but by the amazing subtlety of feelings that he spreads to everything that his eyes are turned to. Each tree, leaf, raindrop, bird seems to make a barely audible sound. Together, they form the music of the Verlainean poetic world.

Beyond this feature, outside this music, there is no Verlaine poetry. It is here that the sources of difficulty, and sometimes the impossibility of translating Paul Verlaine's poems into other languages, lie. Valery Bryusov, who was much involved in translating Verlaine's poetry in Russia, complained of the ever-present danger of “turning“ Romances without words “into“ words without romances “”. The very combination of French vowels, consonants and nasal sounds captivating in Verlaine's poetry is indescribable.

Paul Marie Verlaine   (fr. Paul marie verlaine) - French poet, one of the founders of literary impressionism and symbolism

Paul Marie Verlaine was born March 30, 1844   years in the city of Metz, in the family of a military engineer. After the father’s resignation, the family moved to Paris, where the poet spent his school years.

In 1858, Verlaine begins to write poetry, sends Victor Hugo the poem "Death"

In 1862, he graduated from high school and entered the law faculty of the university. But due to material problems of the family, in 1864 he began working as a small employee in an insurance company, after being in the mayor's office of one of the Paris districts, and soon in a rural town hall.

In 1863, it was first printed, it was the son of Mr. Prud, which testified to the passion for the Parnassus band. In the second half of the 60s he joined this group. During this period, the poet was interested in rhetoric, foreign languages, read a lot of S.-O. St. Beva, S. Baudelaire, T. Banville, attended literary salons. He was greatly impressed by L. de Lille, around whom young writers grouped, who published the collection “Modern Parnassus,” where Verlaine was also printed. But the writer was looking for his own path, different from the objectivist "one-sided" poetry of the Parnassians. The book of S. Baudelaire “Flowers of Evil” gave impetus to the development of impressionistic impressions, symbolic images.

In the 60s, collections of Saturn's Poetry (1866) and Gallant Holidays (1868) were published. However, the general public did not understand Verlaine's poems, for a long time popularity bypassed him.

1865 - Verlaine works as a forwarder at the City Hall of Paris.

In July 1869, the poet met his future wife Matilda Mote, and in 1870 married her. The collection “Good Song” (1870) includes works that he dedicated to his wife. However, hopes for a happy family life did not materialize

In February 1871, the writer received a letter from the small provincial town of Charleville from the then-unknown 18-year-old Arthur Rimbaud with several of his poems. The force with which they were written aroused interest, and Verlaine invited the young man to Paris in a letter of reply. Having met, they became friends, and Verlaine, despite his age superiority, fell under the influence of the strong nature of Rimbaud.

In 1872, hiding from persecution for participating in the Paris Commune, the poet left the house, wife, child and went with a friend Rimbaud on a journey - to England, and then to Belgium. While traveling around Europe, Verlaine and Rimbaud sought, together and separately, for their place in art.

During a quarrel in June 1873, P. Verlaine wounded A. Rimbaud with a shot of a revolver, for which he was sentenced by a Brussels court to two years in prison. In addition, the court found out about the poet’s communist past. In prison, he wrote poems that were included in the collection "Romances without words" (1874). This is the peak of Verlaine's musicality.

In prison, the poet found out that his wife filed for divorce. When he was released from prison on January 16, 1875, no one met him at the gate except his old mother.

Feeling lonely, Verlaine again sought support from Rimbaud and met with him in Strutgart. This meeting was their last: returning home in a state of intoxication, they quarreled and had a fight on the banks of the Neckar. They didn’t see each other again. Returning to Paris, and after moving to London, Verlaine tried to establish his life: he taught languages, was engaged in agriculture, but in the end he devoted himself completely to literary work.

In the 70-80s, the poet increasingly turns to God. Religious mood was reflected in his collection "Wisdom" (1881).

In 1884, the collection Once Upon a Time and a book of literary and critical articles, Damned Poets, were published, which included essays about six poets, including Arthur Rimbaud, Stefan Mallarmé and Paul Verlaine himself.

The aesthetic principles of the poet get a perfect form in the collections of the last period, “Love” (1888), “Happiness” and “Songs for Her” (1891).

The writer led a galaxy of young poets. His poems gained crazy popularity. At the traditional election ceremony of the “King of Poets" in 1891 after the death of L. de Lily, a greater number of votes were cast for Verlaine.

But the confession came too late: the writer’s health was shaken. The talented poet in recent years was ill and was almost constantly forced to stay in hospitals.