Charles Baudelaire

Charles Pierre Baudelaire was a French poet, essayist, and art critic. He was born on 9 April 1821 in Paris, France, and was baptized at Saint-Sulpice Roman Catholic Church two months later. His mother Caroline (née Dufas) was 34 years younger than his father Joseph-François Baudelaire (1794-1871). His father was a government official who passed away while Baudelaire was a young boy. She wed Lieutenant Colonel Jacques Aupick, who later served as France's envoy to many aristocratic realms. In...See more

Charles Pierre Baudelaire was a French poet, essayist, and art critic. He was born on 9 April 1821 in Paris, France, and was baptized at Saint-Sulpice Roman Catholic Church two months later. His mother Caroline (née Dufas) was 34 years younger than his father Joseph-François Baudelaire (1794-1871). His father was a government official who passed away while Baudelaire was a young boy. She wed Lieutenant Colonel Jacques Aupick, who later served as France's envoy to many aristocratic realms. In 1841, Baudelaire's stepfather sent him on a journey to Calcutta, India in an effort to break his bad habits. The journey gave him vivid memories of the sea, sailing, and other ports that he later used in his poems. When he got back to Paris' pubs, he started writing some of "Les Fleurs du Malpoetry. "By 1859, Baudelaire had deteriorated significantly due to his ailments, chronic laudanum usage, stressful lifestyle, and poverty. He traveled to Belgium in 1864, hoping to sell the rights to his writings and deliver talks along the way. In 1866, he had a severe stroke, which left him paralyzed. On August 31, 1867, he passed away. In Paris's Cimetière du Montparnasse, Baudelaire is interred. Posthumous publications of several of Baudelaire's works are common. His mother settled his large obligations after his passing, and she took solace in Baudelaire's rising notoriety. See less