Baudelaire, la tour d’ivoire et le « secret de l’art »

Abstract

Baudelaire uses the metaphor of the “ivory tower” in reference to Delacroix in 1863. He describes it as the chosen prison where the artist locks himself away to distance himself from the crowd and preserve “the secret” of his art. He also thinks of the painter’s studio, where he had the privilege of watching him work, a tall building that lifts the practice of art away from the ground and closer to the celestial vault. Baudelaire’s work is imbued, like the tower, with a movement from the bottom to the top, and from the top to the bottom: this can be found in poems such as “Bénédiction” or “L’Albatros”, or in “Le Mauvais Vitrier”.

Keywords

• poetry
• Baudelaire (Charles)
• art criticism
• ivory tower
• Delacroix (Eugène)
• art for art’s sake