The W.T. Bandy Center for Baudelaire and Modern French Studies at the Jean and Alexander Heard Library hosted a viewing of Charles Baudelaire’s death mask, part of its permanent collection, on Oct. 28.
Baudelaire (1821-1867) was an important 19th-century French poet who influenced literature and art criticism and helped to define modernity. He is best known for his controversial collection of poems Les Fleurs du mal, first published in 1855. Baudelaire also translated Edgar Allan Poe into French, and his is still considered the best translation to date.
Baudelaire’s life as an author was tumultuous. He found himself harried by financial problems, drug addiction, illness and censorship. When he discovered the writings of Poe, however, he found a “twin soul” and a great source of inspiration.
Learn more in the online exhibit Baudelaire’s Poe >
William Thomas Bandy Jr. (1903-1989) collected books and rare materials related to Baudelaire and Poe from his college years at Vanderbilt University and Paris until the end of his life. His labor of love resulted in the establishment in 1968 of the Center for Baudelaire Studies, now the W.T. Bandy Center for Baudelaire and Modern French Studies, at Vanderbilt. As a collector and a scholar, Bandy contributed significantly to our understanding of Baudelaire’s dedication to Poe, whom he regarded as his “other self” although the two writers never had the opportunity to correspond or meet.
The W.T. Bandy Center for Baudelaire and Modern French Studies is located on the eighth floor of the Central Library. Scholars come to the center from all over the world to consult material about Baudelaire’s life, works and related studies.
For more information, visit the W.T. Bandy Center website.