Arsène Houssaye
Arsène Houssaye (born March 28, 1815 in Bruyères , Département Vosges , † February 26, 1896 in Paris ) was a French journalist, writer and art and literary critic.
Houssaye came to Paris as a young person and made his successful debut as a writer there at the age of 21. In 1836 his two novels "La couronne de bluets" and " La pécheresse " appeared. His friendship with the writers Jules Janin and Théophile Gautier soon gave him access to several literary salons, and his collaboration with Jules Sandeau also had a positive effect. He then came into contact with the Parnassians through Gautier .
Supported by the actress Elisa Rachel , Houssaye was appointed manager (administrator) of the Comédie-Française theater with effect from November 1849 . In this office, which he held for seven years, Houssaye was able to achieve great successes in the theater, both artistically and economically. In 1856 he was appointed "General Inspector of the Provincial Museums" and two years later he was appointed officer of the Legion of Honor .
In his capacity as an art critic, Houssaye wrote the work "Histoire de la peinture flamande et hollandaise" between 1844/47, which sparked very controversial discussions. At the climax of this dispute, Joseph Alfred Michiels accused him of plagiarism and Houssaye answered this with the pamphlet “Un martyr littéraire”.
Houssaye ran a large open house. His preciously furnished palace was open to every friend and his almost proverbial hospitality culminated in masked balls to which Tout Paris was invited and also came. During the second empire and also in the early days of the republic that followed, Houssaye held a privileged social position; with relationships up to the family of the imperial family.
Arsène Houssaye died on February 26, 1896 in Paris four weeks before his 81st birthday.
Works (selection)
- Novels
- Les onze maîtresses délaissées (1840),
- La vertu de Raisine (1844),
- Les trois soeurs (1847),
- Philosophes et comédiennes (1850),
- Les filles d'Eve (1852),
- Le repentir de Marion (1854),
- Le violon de Franjolé (1856),
- Les revenants (1859) etc. and more recently:
- La belle Raffaëlla (1874),
- Les mille et une nuits parisiennes (1875, 4 vols.),
- Histoire étrange d'une fille du monde (1876),
- Alice (1877),
- L'éventail brisé (1879, 2 vols.),
- Mademoiselle Rosa (1882),
- La comédienne (1884) et al
- Poetry
- Les sentiers perdus (1841),
- La poésie dans les bois (1845),
- Poëmes antiques (1855),
- La symphonie de vingt ans (1861).
- Plays
- Les caprices de la marquise (1844),
- La comédie à la fenêtre (1852),
- Les comédiennes (1857).
- historical, critical and humorous works
- Gallery de portraits du XVIII. siècle (1846 4 parts);
- L'histoire du quarante et unième fauteuil de l'Académie française (1855 a satire on the academy);
- Les femmes comme elles sont (1857);
- Le roi Voltaire (1858);
- Histoire de l'art français au XVIII. siècle (1860);
- Les femmes du temps passé (1862);
- Les Charmettes: Rousseau et Mad. De Warens (1863);
- Le palais pompéien de l'avenue Montaigne (1865);
- Molière , sa femme et sa fille (1880).
- Les confessions d'AH Souvenirs d'un demi-siècle (1885, 4 vols. A biography).
Web links
- Literature by and about Arsène Houssaye in the catalog of the German National Library
- Works by and about Arsène Houssaye in the German Digital Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Houssaye, Arsène |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 28, 1815 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bruyères |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 26, 1896 |
| Place of death | Paris |