Art in Paris, 1845-1862 Salons and Other Exhibitions

Charles Baudelaire, one of the greatest French poets of the nineteenth century, has been described as the father of modern criticism. Rejecting a cold, mathematical, heartless approach, Baudelaire demanded a criticism that was partial, passionate, and political' and, he added, amusing and poetic. His starting point was always the shock of pleasure experienced in front of a work of art, and his writing conveys the excitement of first-hand experience expressed with liveliness and originality.