Unknown self portrait of Charles Baudelaire found

PARIS. Discovered an unknown self-portrait of Charles Baudelaire (Charles Baudelaire) revived interest in this French poet of the 19th century, who had a reputation as an "unbearable child" and known for his dark, erotic poetry.

The drawing, made in pale brown watercolor, shows three quarters of Baudelaire’s face, with a red scarf around his neck, depicted against a naked woman, silhouettes of a man and a dog.

The drawing was found by one of the curators of the Museum of Architecture in Cité, while studying a collection of art objects found in the workshop of the French sculptor Adolphe-Victor Geoffroy-Dechaume, a contemporary of Baudelaire.

The curator of the museum, Carole Lenfant (Carole Lenfant) immediately drew attention to this inconspicuous piece of paper. Convinced that it was Baudelaire depicted in the figure, she began to search for evidence of her innocence.

The answer was found with the help of the poet’s creative expert, Jean-Paul Avice, an employee of the French Historical Library. In an interview with Reuters, the expert confirmed that the watercolor was made by Baudelaire personally, despite the absence of a date and a signature in the picture.

Avise considers the drawing to be the same mysterious self-portrait, which, according to the Nouvelle Revue de Poche magazine for 1868, was in the collection of the French cartoonist Honore Daumier, a close friend of Baudelaire.

An almost identical copy of this drawing is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, with a note that the drawing is based on the artist’s self-portrait.

Experts date the drawing to 1845-1847, since it was at this time that the artist wore a mustache.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru