Albert de La Fizelière (''in full'' Albert-André Patin de La Fizelière; ''pen-name'' Ludovic de Marsay, ''see box to the right'') (b. 7 August 1819 in Marly; d. 11 February 1878 in Paris) was a French

littérateur An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

, writer on electoral and constitutional law, art critic, and historian, known for his friendship with

Champfleury Jules François Felix Fleury-Husson (17 September 1821, in Laon, Aisne – 6 December 1889, in Sèvres), who wrote under the name Champfleury (), was a French art critic and novelist, a prominent supporter of the Realist movement in painting ...

and for his ties to the Café Guerbois circle. He was described by Edmond Antoine Poinsot (Georges d'Heylli; 18331902) as one "of the small number of our learned men who are both spiritual and without pedantry". He was a friend of

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fro ...

and published the first bibliography of the latter a year after his death. To the general public he is known for his dictum that "the public generally prefers a gibe to a word and a buffoon to a comedian" (''le public préfère généralement le lazzi au mot et la queue-rouge au comédien''), which had been anthologized in dictionaries of French quotations from 1840 onwards.

Life and works

His earliest publication in book form seems to have been an elaboration of the popular historical work, ''Abrégé chronologique de l'histoire de France...'' of

Charles-Jean-François Hénault Charles-Jean-François Hénault (8 February 1685 – 24 November 1770) was a French writer and historian. Life and career Early years Hénault was born in Paris. His father, René Jean Rémy Hénault de Cantobre (1648–1737) a farmer-general ...

(16851770), which was issued in 1842 as "updated to the present times" by "Ludovic G. de Marsay". He was the

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of the

art magazine An art magazine is a publication whose main topic is art. They can be in print form, online, or both and may be aimed at different audiences, including galleries, buyers, amateur or professional artists and the general public. Art magazines can be ...

''Bulletin de l'Ami des arts'' (published 18431845), of the ''Journal de l'album des théâtres'', of ''La Petite Revue'' (published 18631870?; since 1867 as ''La Petite Revue anecdotique''), and of the weekly foreigners' guide to Paris, the ''Gazette parisienne''. Many of his art reviews that appeared in the magazine ''L'Artiste'' were subsequently reprinted as independent brochures. La Fizelière was the founder of the magazine ''Notre Histoire'' in 1848. He was an admirer of the work of

Charles Nodier Jean Charles Emmanuel Nodier (29 April 1780 – 27 January 1844) was a French author and librarian who introduced a younger generation of Romanticists to the ''conte fantastique'', gothic literature, and vampire tales. His dream related writings ...

, whose obituary he published in the ''Bulletin de l'Ami des arts'' of 30 January 1844, having been instrumental in bringing his ''Franciscus Columna'' to print posthumously in the same year. Some years later he would publish Nodier's correspondence with Alphonse Martainville. In 1855 (in some reports, at the end of 1854) La Fizelière married the fifteen-year-old Sara Bouclier (18391913), whose beauty, grace and spirit had already attracted an entourage of suitors before her marriage to La Fizelière, and who would go on to become at his side a translator of

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

into the French language. Her portrait (an oil painting on canvas) executed by

Charles-Émile-Callande de Champmartin Charles-Émile-Callande de Champmartin (1797 in Bourges – 1883 in Paris) was a French painter, noted for his Orientalist works. Life and career The son of a couple of freeholders, Jean Callande and Gabrielle Lemonnier, Charles-Émile Cal ...

in 1845 when Sara Bouclier was 6-years' old (looking considerably more mature) and preserved today at the Musée national du

château de Compiègne The Château de Compiègne is a French château, a royal residence built for Louis XV and restored by Napoleon. Compiègne was one of three seats of royal government, the others being Versailles and Fontainebleau. It is located in Compiègne ...

, is an ample testimony to her assets, both physical and intellectual. In the latter part of his life he edited the 12-volume ''Œuvres diverses'' of

Jules Janin Jules Gabriel Janin (16 February 1804 – 19 June 1874) was a French writer and critic. Life and career Born in Saint-Étienne (Loire), Janin's father was a lawyer, and he was educated first at St. Étienne, and then at the lycée Louis-le-Gra ...

. He edited and published literary monuments of the regional dialects of France, such as the hitherto unpublished 17th-century ''Dialogue de Thoinette et d'Alizon'' in the

Lorrain dialect Lorrain is a language (often referred to as patois) spoken by now a minority of people in Lorraine in France, small parts of Alsace and in Gaume in Belgium. It is a langue d'oïl. It is classified as a regional language of France and has the ...

(1856), and several pieces in the Francophone dialect of Metzgau (the so-called ''patois messin''). His publications in the field of art history include an essay on

Vivant Denon Dominique Vivant, Baron Denon (4 January 1747 – 27 April 1825) was a French artist, writer, diplomat, author, and archaeologist. Denon was a diplomat for France under Louis XV and Louis XVI. He was appointed as the first Director of the Louvre ...

, and another on

Antoine Chintreuil Antoine Chintreuil (May 15, 1814 – August 8, 1873) was a French landscape art, landscape painter. He was among the starving artists who lived ''la vie de bohéme'' in Paris in the 1840s, as popularized by his friend and fellow Bohemianism, Bohem ...

. La Fizelière's caricature was drawn by the famous artist

Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar, was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of Aircraft#Heavier-than-air – aerodynes, h ...

towards the middle of the century, in which La Fizelière is called "Lafiselière" (preserved in the manuscript collections of the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

). Four months after his death his personal library was dispersed in a public sale, while his manuscripts and his art collection went on sale five months later.Cf. ''Estampes anciennes et modernes, eaux-fortes, lithographies..., portraits, vignettes, illustrations, collection de M. Albert de La Fizelière... : catalogue... vente 9 November 1878...

xpert Shahriyar Atababayev ( az, Şəhriyar Zahid oğlu Atababayev), better known by his stage name Xpert, is an Azerbaijani rapper, songwriter. Life Shahriyar Zahid Oglu Atababayev was born on September 30, 1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From ...

Vignères'', Paris, Ves Renou, Maulde et Cock, 1878.

Works

1840s

*''Exposition de Metz'' (1842) *''Peintures de M. Heim à Saint-Sulpice'' (1842) *''Les Inondés de la Loire, scène dramatique en vers'' (1846; co-authored with

Jean Servais Jean Servais (; 24 September 1910 – 17 February 1976) was a Belgian film and stage actor. He acted in many 20th century French cinema productions, from the 1930s through the early 1970s. He was married to Gilberte Graillot, and later actr ...

) *''Une famille de la rue Mouffetard, scène dramatique'' (co-authored with de la Jonchère) *''Biographie des représentants du peuple à l'Assemblée nationale constituante...'' (1848; co-authored with L.-G. Giraudeau, W. Hughes and R. Kerambrun) *''Manuel de l'électeur constituant, indiquant les droits et les devoirs des citoyens appelés aux élections du 9 avril 1848'' (1848; under the pseudonym "M. L. G. de Marsay") *''Mémoires d'un insurgé: histoire des sociétés secrètes, depuis 1815 jusqu'en 1848'' (1848; anonymous; attributed by Jean-Gustave Wallon to joint authorship of La Fizelière and others) *''Le Procès des accusés de Strasbourg'' (1849)

1850s

*''La Danse, ses temples et ses desservants en 1850'' (1850; as "L.-G. de Marsay") *''Manuel du citoyen... contenant le texte, avec commentaires, de la Constitution et de toutes les lois politiques, organiques ou complémentaires'' (1850; as "M. Ludovic de Marsay") *''La Promenade � Paris et aux environs' (1850; as "L.-G. de Marsay") *''Itinéraire des chemins de fer de Paris à Versailles, Saint-Germain, Rouen et Dieppe'' (1850; as "L.-G. de Marsay") *''Salon de 18501851: exposition nationale'' (1851) *''Itinéraire du chemin de fer de Rouen, Le Havre et Dieppe'' (1851) *''Itinéraire du chemin de fer du Nord et de ses embranchements'' (1851) *''Le Livret de l'Exposition faite en 1673 dans la cour du Palais royal, reprinted with notes by

Anatole de Montaiglon Anatole de Courde de Montaiglon (28 November 1824 – 1 September 1895) was a 19th-century French librarian and art historian. Biography In 1850, De Montaignon graduated as an archivist and palaeographer from the École des chartes, with a the ...

,... et suivi d'un essai de bibliographie des livrets et des critiques de salons depuis 1673 jusqu'en 1851'' (1852) *''Lo Rondot don Jozon, chanson messine réquiaye pet M. Albert de La Fizelière et Maly devant Metz'' (1853) *''Félice'' (1854; extract from ''Metz littéraire'') *''Lo Nieu de jeument: conte de fauchoux requiet aivau lés prés pet monsieu A. de La Fizelière'' (1857) *''Ch. Nodier, entomologiste'' (1857) *''Voltaire est-il étranger'' (1858) *''Histoire de la crinoline au temps passé'' (1859)

1860s

*''AZ ou Le Salon en miniature'' (1861) *''Vins à la mode et cabarets au XVIIe siècle'' (1866) *''Charles Baudelaire'' (1868; co-authored with Georges Decaux) *''Rymaille sur les plus célèbres bibliotières de Paris en 1649: avec des notes et un essai sur les autres bibliothèques particulières du temps'' (1868)

1870s

*''Des Émaux cloisonnés et de leur introduction dans la reliure des livres'' (1870) *''Jules Janin'' (1874) *''Paris et Versailles il y a cent ans'' (1874; co-authored with

) *''Jules Janin et sa bibliothèque, notice bibliographique'' (1874; excerpt from ''Bulletin du Bibliophile'' of June 1874) *''La Vie et l'œuvre de Chintreuil'' (1874; co-authored with

and Frédéric Henriet) *''Théâtre du Paravent, I. Récompense honnête'', saynète (1874) *''Mémento du Salon de peinture, de gravure et de sculpture en 1875...'' (1875)

Bibliography

*Georges d'Heylli, ''Dictionnaire des pseudonymes'', 2nd ed., Paris, E. Dentu, 1868, pages 99100 ('' s.v.'' Egerton). *

Paul Lacroix Paul Lacroix (; 27 February 1806 – 16 October 1884) was a French author and journalist. He is known best by his pseudonym P.L. Jacob, bibliophile, or Bibliophile Jacob, suggested by his great interest in libraries and books generally. Biogra ...

, ''Albert de La Fizelière, homme de lettres, notice nécrologique, par P.-L. Jacob, bibliophile'', Paris, Vve A. Aubry, 1878. (Excerpt from the ''Bulletin du bouquiniste'' of 15 March 1878.) *

, ''La Bibliothèque d'Albert de la Fizelière,... par P. L. Jacob,...'', Paris, Vve A. Aubry, 1878. *''Catalogue des livres de la bibliothèque de feu M. Albert de La Fizelière... dont la vente aux enchères aura lieu le lundi 10 juin 1878 et les six jours suivants...'', Paris, Vve A. Aubry, 1878. *Anonymous obituary (with useful bibliography) in ''Polybiblion: revue bibliographique universelle'' (Paris), 2nd series, vol. 7 (22), 1878, pages 268269. *Emil Weller, ''Lexicon Pseudonymorum: Wörterbuch der Pseudonymen aller Zeiten und Völker oder Verzeichnis jener Autoren, die sich falscher Namen bedienten'', 2nd ed.,

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

, A. Coppenrath, 1886, pages 161, 346, and 456. (For pen-names.) *

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

, ''The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer'', vol. 4 (''The Last Years, 18571864''), tr. & ed. R. I. Letellier, Madison (New Jersey),

Fairleigh Dickinson University Press Fairleigh Dickinson University Press (FDU Press) is a publishing house under the operation and oversight of Fairleigh Dickinson University, the largest private university in New Jersey, which has international campuses in Vancouver, British Columb ...

, 2004, page 143. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Fizeliere, Albert Patin de 1819 births 1878 deaths French art critics French bibliographers French biographers 19th-century French historians Linguists from France French literary critics French magazine editors French magazine founders French philologists French theatre critics People from Moselle (department) 19th-century French journalists French male journalists 19th-century French businesspeople 19th-century French male writers Male biographers