He was born in Tarbes in the Hautes-Pyrénées departement, in the southwestern region of France, and he went to Paris as a small child. He had an idea of becoming a painter, but his inclinations turned him in the direction of poetry, and these ambitions were furthered on meeting Victor Hugo. He also received help from Honoré de Balzac, who gave him work at the Chronique de Paris.
Gautier belonged, along with the poet Charles Baudelaire and Dr. Jacques-Joseph Moreau, and many other literary and intellectual figures of the day, to a club dedicated to experimenting with drugs, principally hashish, called the Club des Hashischins. In an article published in Revue des Deux Mondes in 1846, Gautier detailed their experiments.
He visited Spain in 1840 in the wake of the civil war then being waged. He made a living from journalism although he found the work 'humiliating', seeking and finding escape in travel and poetry. He is remembered for the quote: "Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality."
Theophile Gautier died in 1872 and was interred in the Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris.
Gautier always said he remained true to the choices he made in 1830, and in a certain way, he did, even though his work evolved towards estheticism, he remained a romantic to the end as witnessed in his "Histoire du Romantisme".
Gautier wrote over 1,200 articles, always raging against the restrictions imposed by a daily pressandmdash; his only real breadwinner, which was also an obstacle to his writing a great work.
In much of Gautier's work, the subject is less important than the pleasure of telling the story: more than a supporter of art for art's sake, he favored a provocative style to the detriment of the story.
Gautier belonged, along with the poetCharles Baudelaire and Dr. Jacques-Joseph Moreau, and many other literary and intellectual figures of the day, to a club dedicated to experimenting with drugs, principally hashish, called the Club des Hashischins.
TheophileGautier died in 1872 and was interred in the Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris.
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