Introduction
Charles Baudelaire was a hugely important figure in French literary history. His most famous work, Fleurs du Mal, is now a cornerstone of French poetry, though it was extremely controversial at the time of its publication. The collection as a whole is preoccupied with themes of death, sexuality, sin, and suffering and has been fruitful inspiration for artists and illustrators since its first publication in 1857. The Booth Family Center for Special Collections owns several different versions of Fleurs du Mal, each lavishly illustrated but in widely varying styles, giving Baudelaire’s words a new tone in each new visual context.
Books at Booth
- Vingt-cinq poèmes des Fleurs du Mal
This book combines 25 poems from the original Fleurs du Mal with 25 drawings by the artist and sculptor Auguste Rodin. Unlike many other illustrated poetry collections, many of Rodin’s drawings are placed directly next to or even on top of Baudelaire’s poems, truly integrating text and image in a way that magnifies the impact of each medium. Georgetown's Art Collection owns a portrait of Rodin, which you can view online here . - 30 bois gravés pour illustrer 30 poèmes des Fleurs du Mal
These 30 woodcuts were designed by artist Frans Masereel to illustrate 30 excerpts from Fleurs du Mal. His strong, graphic style complements the sharp lines pulled from Baudelaire’s writing, and though each of the poems are standalone works, the repetition of figures and settings in the illustrations creates a sense of continuous narrative throughout the book. Georgetown's Art Collection owns one print by Masereel, which you can view online here. - Les fleurs du mal
This dramatic red and black edition is a complete set of all poems in Fleurs du Mal, including the six most controversial that were censored during initial publication. Nine color illustrations by Jacques Roubille, often depicting either imagined caricatures of figures described in the poems or scenes from the classical world that Baudelaire references, are interspersed with the text. - Flowers of evil: Fleurs du mal in pattern and prose
This translation of Baudelaire’s work formats each poem as a prose piece, erasing much of the rhyme and rhythm of the original text but still proving to be an accessible English-language version of the collection. Sixteen woodcut illustrations in the art deco style give a macabre, fairy-tale-like quality to the work.
