In episode 193, we shared the stories of the artists of the Romantic period. The period covered more than just art, it stretched to music and some of the most beloved pieces in French literature.
The king and father of French Romantic literature has to be Victor Hugo. On June 5, 1832 he was sitting in the Tuileries when he suddenly heard gunfire. Heading towards it on his way home he had to hide on Rue Saint Sauveur behind a pillar for hours. The moment would then be used 30 years later when wrote Les Miserables.
Hugo’s most famous novel, Notre Dame de Paris was inspired by the once glorious cathedral that was now falling into ruin. He took his time much to his publishers dismay but once the book was released in March 1831. As soon as it was published the public fell in love, not just with his book but also with the cathedral and in the end saving it.
Another author of the time that did more to inspire the romantic artists and writers was François-René de Chateaubriand. Born in 1768, Chateaubriand wrote a lot about nature in his passionate ways that in turn inspired Balzac and Hugo. His story Atala, was depicted in the beautiful painting by Anne-Louis Girodet that we also talked about in the Love in the Louvre episode.
Honoré de Balzac is a name many know from his La Comédie Humaine multi-volume tale. A combined 135 finished and unfinished pieces in many volumes was one of the first novels with recurring characters. They are fascinating to read.
Alfred de Musset, is well known for his volatile relationship with George Sand but the man himself was a brilliant writer and also quite the ladies' man. After their relationship ended he wrote a novel about it, La Confession d’un Enfant du Siècle in 1836. It’s a real page turner and has been translated into english as well as into movies a few times.