Abstract

In this paper, I prove that C. Baudelaire developed his thought in the field of art criticism, by breaking with the theory of the imitation of nature and improving the : image of "modern art". First, I analyze the concept of romantisme emphasized in Salon de 1846, and prove that Baudelaire's view of art is closely related to his estimation of E. Delacroix's paintings, which are regarded as "the most actual expression of beauty." Second, I analyze a new development of Baudelaire's ideas in the late 1850's. What I regard as important is two concepts, surnaturalisme and imagination . The latter is a faculty which can : govern nature and create a new world. Finally, I take up Le Peintre de la vie moderne , in which C. Guys's supernatural art is highly regarded. Baudelaire's manner of estimating it is similar to the manner Delacroix's paintings were treated. I make this similarity and its significance clear by comparing the concept of modernité emphasized in Le Peintre de la vie moderne with his early theory of art, and by comparing Guys's génie with : Delacroix's imagination