BAUDELAIRE Charles Les Fleurs du mal.

Carteret, I, 118; Clouzot, 43; Chalvet, 18.

First edition. One of the very rare copies printed on large Hollande paper of which Chalvet lists 22.

This exceptional copy contains added material:

1. The reduced suite of 9 engravings by Odilon Redon illustrating Les Fleurs du Mal.

2. The frontispiece by Bracquemond, refused by Baudelaire.

3. An autograph letter from Baudelaire to La Fizelière dated 22 February 1864.

4. A letter from Manet to Poulet-Malassis asking for two copies of Les Fleurs du mal.

5. A portrait of Baudelaire engraved by Marcellin-Gilbert Desboustin. This portrait is not mentioned by Chalvet.

A very fine copy, with the cover in its definitive state (correct date of the notice on Jean Schelandre and the corrected name of Olympe de Gouges).

The suite of engravings by Redon

In 1890, Redon’s engravings were published separately as a collection of drawings in Brussels by Edmond Deman. Although the text was not printed with the suite, a page presents the order of the plates with their associated poems and pages according to the edition of Baudelaire’s Oeuvres complètes published by Michel Lévy in 1868. In our copy, the plates are inserted opposite the poems they illustrate. Redon entitled his collection of plates Les Fleurs du Mal. Interpretations by Odilon Redon. The artist has always denied being an illustrator, no doubt associating a form of depreciation with the work of an artist who intervenes after the writer and follows his creation. He therefore preferred to interpret. Redon did not extract a passage to put it into an image but tried to concentrate the whole text into an image. He tried to understand the atmosphere of Baudelaire’s verses, of his universe, and then to disperse it in each image.

Bracquemond’s frontispiece

This frontispiece was the subject of numerous exchanges between Braquemond, Baudelaire and Poulet-Malassis in 1860. Baudelaire seemed increasingly worried and put an end to the artist’s attempts on 20 August. As Baudelaire received the third state of the engraving, he wrote to Poulet-Malassis: « Voici l’horreur de Bracquemond. Je lui ai dit que c’était bien. Je ne savais que dire, tant j’étais étonné. Ce squelette marche et il est appuyé sur un éventail de rameaux qui partent des côtes au lieu de partir des bras. À quoi a servi le dessin décalqué d’après Langlois ? Je ne souffrirai pas que cela paraisse ».

This episode was the origin of a quarrel between Baudelaire and Braquemond. The author often mentioned his regret at not having addressed himself directly to Octave Penguilly, who puts a number of fantastic tales into pictures. Braquemond’s illustration seemed too literal for Baudelaire, he adorned his composition with 7 flowers dressed in headbands that are to be named after the 7 deadly sins. The skeleton was Baudelaire’s idea, he wanted it to be arborescent. He probably regretted that this idea could not be put into practice and so he used it again for Les Epaves. This time the frontispiece was executed by Félicien Rops.

The letter to La Fizelière

Albert de la Fizelière was a friend of Baudelaire’s and they corresponded. In 1868, La Fizelière published a biography of Baudelaire with George Decaux at L’Académie des Bibliophiles. In this letter, Baudelaire mentions several press articles and aesthetic theories that seem to interest him. He begins his letter by asking for an explanation of the serpentine line developed by the painter-engraver William Hogarth in his essay, The Analysis of Beauty. The English painter, undoubtedly influenced by Vinci and the picturesque aesthetics prevalent in Great Britain, considered the curved and sinuous line to be a graceful element in a pictorial composition. He also praises the article by the historian Horace Viel de Castel in La France of 22 February. He finds it absolutely incredible and marvelous.

Manet’s letter to Poulet-Malassis

Manet writes to Baudelaire’s publisher asking for two unexpurgated copies of Les Fleurs du Mal. He quotes two poems that he considers to be condemned: Les Femmes damnées, which is banned, and Une martyre, which is not.

Manet and Baudelaire were close friends, and the artist painted a portrait of the poet in the 1860s, which was later included in the biography by Asselineau (1869).

Engraved portrait by Marcellin-Gilbert Desboustin

Marcellin Desboutin was a specialist in drypoint and etching, and his portrait of Baudelaire is mentioned in Béraldi’s Grand Guide de l’Amateur de Gravure. Specialised in portraits, he produced those of the literary circle close to Baudelaire such as Jules Claretie, Alphonse Daudet and Sar Péladan.

Provenance: Mrs. Henry Walters (sale in New York, Parke Bernet Galleries, 23-25 April 1941, lot 118) – Louis de Sadeleer (ex-libris).