Isn’t Rue Joris Karl Huysmans a fascinating name for a street? This street bears the name of a famous French novelist and art critic. Joris-Karl Huysmans was born Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans in Paris in 1848. He used Joris-Karl Huysmans as a pen name to honor his Dutch ancestry.
Huysmans was a versatile writer. He was first associated with Émile Zola and the Naturalist group. Later, he joined the French Decadent Movement. Huysmans’s life took an interesting turn. He explored Satanism before converting to Catholicism. His works reflect this journey.
Huysmans’s most famous works include À Rebours, Là-Bas, and La Cathédrale. À Rebours translates to Against the Grain or Against Nature. It tells the story of an aesthete named des Esseintes. Des Esseintes rejects mainstream society and indulges in eccentric pleasures. This novel broke away from Naturalism. It became an important example of decadent literature.
Huysmans’s Là-Bas explores Satanism in France in the late 1880s. The novel features the character Durtal. Durtal researches the 15th-century child murderer Gilles de Rais. La Cathédrale is set in Chartres. It explores the symbolism of the cathedral. This book’s commercial success allowed Huysmans to retire from his civil service job.
Before his literary success, Huysmans worked as a civil servant for 32 years. He found the job tedious. He served in the Franco-Prussian War but was invalided out with dysentery. Huysmans was also an art critic. He defended Symbolist painters like Odilon Redon and Gustave Moreau.
Huysmans’s writing style is known for its idiosyncratic use of the French language. He used an extensive vocabulary and sensuous descriptions. His work often displays biting satirical wit. His art criticism recognized the genius of Degas and the Impressionists.
Huysmans never married or had children. He had a long-term relationship with Anna Meunier. Huysmans died in 1907 from cancer of the mouth. He was interred in the cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris.
Michel Houellebecq’s novel Submission features a literary scholar specializing in Huysmans. Huysmans’s relationship with Catholicism is a foil for the book’s treatment of Islam in France. Huysmans’s exploration of art, religion, and the human condition continues to captivate readers. Rue Joris Karl Huysmans serves as a reminder of his enduring legacy.