Aloysius Bertrand

Biography

Born in the Piedmont, the April 20th 1807, it is with Dijon, where his/her father, officer of gendarmerie, settled after his retirement, at the beginning of the Restauration, that Bertrand passes the major part of his life, it will find most of his inspiration in the streets and the monuments of this city. It names its poems, which it starts to publish in the local press, “bambochades”, according to the nickname of the painter Dutch Pierre de Laer, bambochio . With died of his father, he becomes household head, with the load to deal of his mother and his sister. Bertrand founds a newspaper, provincial the , in 1828, with the very transitory life. He attends the literary circles of Paris, Victor Hugo, Charles Augustin Holy-Beuve, Charles Nodier, but the feeling of shame which its poverty and its pride inspire to him prevent it from finding its place in the group of the romantic Parisian. Of return to Dijon, it founds a new newspaper, the patriot of Coast-in Or in 1830 in which it is posted like deeply republican, which is worth many enmities to him among the notable ones of the city. He writes also plays, the second lieutenant of hussards and Daniel , without much success. He decides to settle in Paris in 1833 where he carries out a miserable life of marginal provincial. Misunderstood by its unworthy family, it takes refuge then in the dream, in an old past, far from the modern world and devotes its life to write Gaspard of the night . It ends up dying of Phtisie (pulmonary tuberculosis) in Paris the April 29th 1841. At the time of his burial, his/her friend David of Angers, which had found it by chance, little before, in the hospital where he failed, is the only one to accompany it. He will ensure the publication, in 1842, of Gaspard of the night , that Bertrand had never succeeded in obtaining. However this original edition will be very faulty. In 1925 a new edition, of Bertrand Guégan, according to the manuscript, will correct the most obvious errors. And it is only as from 1992, date of acquisition of the manuscript by the National library, that this book could be finally published according to the manuscript and the wishes of the author. The recognition of its work will intervene only at the 20th century.

Recognized like a cursed Poète, he will become the inspirer of Charles Baudelaire, which will acknowledge that temptation to him had just written the Spleen of Paris afterwards many readings of Gaspard of the night , that he admired much, like, later, of the surrealist .

Maurice Ravel put in music, for the piano, the poems Ondine , the gibet and especially Scarbo , part of virtuosity single ( Gaspard of the night , 1908)

Quotation

“I have a small confession to make you. It is while dividing into sheets, for the twentieth time at least, famous Gaspard of the Night, of Aloysius Bertrand (a known book of you, me and some of our friends, isn't it entitled all to be called famous?) that the idea to me had tried something of analog, and had just applied to the description of the modern life, or rather of a modern life and abstracted, the process which it had applied to the painting of the old life, so curiously picturesque. ” Charles Baudelaire, Dedication with Arsene Houssaye of the Spleen of Paris.

Works

Gaspard of the night (1842, posthumous).

fantastic Keepsake . Poetries, chronicles and tests. New theater, correspondence, published by Bertrand Guégan, edition of the Siren, romantic collection, Paris, 1923.
poetic Works. The pleasure and parts various , published according to the manuscripts with a foreword, an introduction and notes. By Cargill Sprietsma. Champion. 1926.
complete Works , published by Helen Binder Poggenburg, champion, Paris, 2000.

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