Catulle Mendès (22 May 1841 â€" 8 February 1909) was a French poet
and man of letters.Of Portuguese Jewish extraction, Mendès was born
in Bordeaux.[1] After childhood and adolescence in Toulouse, he
arrived in Paris in 1859 and quickly became one of the protégés of
the poet Théophile Gautier. He promptly attained notoriety with the
publication in the La Revue fantaisiste (1861) of his Roman d'une
nuit, for which he was condemned to a month's imprisonment and a fine
of 500 francs. He was allied with Parnassianism from the beginning of
the movement and displayed extraordinary metrical skill in his first
volume of poems, Philoméla (1863). His critics have noted that the
elegant verse of his later volumes is distinguished rather by
dexterous imitation of different writers than by any marked
originality. The versatility and fecundity of Mendès' talent is shown
in his critical and dramatic writings, including several libretti, and
in his novels and short stories. His short stories continue the French
tradition of the licentious conte.In 1866, Mendès married Judith
Gautier, the younger daughter of his mentor Théophile. They soon
separated, and in 1869 he began cohabiting with the composer Augusta
Holmès with whom he had five children, including:[2]The couple parted
in 1886, and he later married the poet Jeanne Nette, who was to be his
last companion.[3]
and man of letters.Of Portuguese Jewish extraction, Mendès was born
in Bordeaux.[1] After childhood and adolescence in Toulouse, he
arrived in Paris in 1859 and quickly became one of the protégés of
the poet Théophile Gautier. He promptly attained notoriety with the
publication in the La Revue fantaisiste (1861) of his Roman d'une
nuit, for which he was condemned to a month's imprisonment and a fine
of 500 francs. He was allied with Parnassianism from the beginning of
the movement and displayed extraordinary metrical skill in his first
volume of poems, Philoméla (1863). His critics have noted that the
elegant verse of his later volumes is distinguished rather by
dexterous imitation of different writers than by any marked
originality. The versatility and fecundity of Mendès' talent is shown
in his critical and dramatic writings, including several libretti, and
in his novels and short stories. His short stories continue the French
tradition of the licentious conte.In 1866, Mendès married Judith
Gautier, the younger daughter of his mentor Théophile. They soon
separated, and in 1869 he began cohabiting with the composer Augusta
Holmès with whom he had five children, including:[2]The couple parted
in 1886, and he later married the poet Jeanne Nette, who was to be his
last companion.[3]
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