Jean Moréas (; born Ioannis A. Papadiamantopoulos, Ιωάννης Α. Παπαδιαμαντόπουλος; 15 April 1856 – 31 March 1910
), was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
poet, essayist, and
art critic
An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...
, who wrote mostly in the
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
but also in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
during his youth.
Biography
Moréas was born into a distinguished
Athenian
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
family on April 15, 1856.
His ancestors included two well-known men of the
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
, namely his paternal grandfather and namesake
Ioannis Papadiamantopoulos, born in
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...
but of ultimately
Epirote
Epirus (; el, Ήπειρος, translit=Ípiros, ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region in northwestern Greece.Π.Δ. 51/87 “Καθορισμός των ...
ancestry (he was executed after the fall of
Missolonghi
Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...
), and his maternal great uncle
Iakovos Tombazis
Iakovos "Yiakoumakis" Tombazis ( el, Ιάκωβος Τομπάζης, –1829) was a merchant and ship-owner from the Greek island of Hydra who became the first Admiral of the Hellenic Navy during the Greek War of Independence.
The Tomba ...
(c. 1782–1829), from
Hydra
Hydra generally refers to:
* Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology
* ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria
Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Hydra (constel ...
, who became one of the first admirals of the Greek navy. Moreas's father was Adamantios Papadiamantopoulos from
Patras
)
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, ...
; a judge, scholar, and poet.
[; ; ; .]
Moreas received a French education, and went to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1875 to study law at the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
. While in France, he began associating with literary circles, and became acquainted with
Les Hydropathes, a group of French writers that included
Alphonse Allais
Alphonse Allais (20 October 1854 – 28 October 1905) was a French writer, journalist and humorist.
Life
Allais was born in Honfleur, Calvados. He died in Paris.
Work
He is the author of many collections of whimsical writings. A poet as much as ...
,
Charles Cros
Charles Cros or Émile-Hortensius-Charles Cros (October 1, 1842 – August 9, 1888) was a French poet and inventor. He was born in Fabrezan, Aude.
Cros was a well-regarded poet and humorous writer. As an inventor, he was interested in the field ...
,
Guy de Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...
, and
Léon Bloy
Léon Bloy (; 11 July 1846 – 3 November 1917) was a French Catholic novelist, essayist, pamphleteer (or lampoonist), and satirist, known additionally for his eventual (and passionate) defense of Catholicism and for his influence within French C ...
. He was also an acquaintance of the Greek artist
Demetrios Galanis
Demetrios Galanis ( el, Δημήτριος Γαλάνης, 17 May 1879, Athens – 20 March 1966, Paris) was an early twentieth-century Greece, Greek artist and friend of Picasso. In 1920, the year he completed his ''Seated Nude'' (private coll ...
and the
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n poet
Ion Minulescu
Ion Minulescu (; 6 January 1881 – 11 April 1944) was a Romanian avant-garde poet, novelist, short story writer, journalist, literary critic, and playwright. Often publishing his works under the pseudonyms I. M. Nirvan and Koh-i-Noor (the latte ...
.
Moréas died in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France, on March 31, 1910.
Works
Moréas published poetry in his publications ''Lutèce'' and ''Le Chat noir'', and collected his poems into two editions, ''Les Syrtes'' ("The Sandbanks") and ''Cantilènes'', which were strongly influenced by
Paul Verlaine
Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' in international and ...
.
He was initially a practitioner of the style of
Symbolism
Symbolism or symbolist may refer to:
Arts
* Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism
** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries
** Russian sy ...
, and wrote the ''
Symbolist Manifesto
The Symbolist Manifesto (French: ''Le Symbolisme'') was published on 18 September 1886 Lucie-Smith, Edward. (1972) ''Symbolist Art''. London: Thames & Hudson, p. 54. in the French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' by the Greek-born poet and essayist Jean M ...
'' (1886), which he published in the newspaper ''
Le Figaro
''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...
'', partly to redeem the reputation of the new generation of young writers from the charge of "
decadence
The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members of ...
" that the press had implied. He was considered one of the most important Symbolist poets until the early 1890s.
In 1891, as Symbolism became more openly associated with
anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
, he published ''Le Pèlerin passionné'' which rejected
Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...
an and
Germanic influences, such as
Romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
(as well as some aspects of Symbolism), in favor of
Ancient Roman
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
and
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
influences. This work helped initiate the ''École Romane'', the aesthetic of which provided
Charles Maurras
Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-parl ...
with the ideology necessary for the
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
philosophy ''
Action Française
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 f ...
''.
Moréas also wrote ''Les Demoiselles Goubert'', a
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
, in association with
Paul Adam. His most important publications were:
*''Les Syrtes'' (1884)
*''Les Cantilènes'' (1886)
*''Le Pèlerin passionné'' (1891)
*''Stances'' (1893)
*''Contes de la vielle France'' (1904)
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
Andreas Embirikos
Andreas Embirikos ( el, Ανδρέας Εμπειρίκος; September 2, 1901 in Brăila – August 3, 1975 in Kifissia, Attica) was a Greek surrealist poet and one of the first Greek psychoanalysts.
Life
Embirikos was born in Brăila, R ...
. ''Les étapes de Jean Moréas''. Lausanne, 1948.
*R. Georgin. ''Jean Moréas''. Paris, 1930.
*Jean de Gourmont. ''Jean Moréas''. Paris, 1905.
*J. Weber. ''Jean Moréas u. die französische Tradition''. Nuremberg, 1934.
External links
*
*
*
Moréas' PoemsArticle on Jean Moréas and the French Symbolists in April 1895 edition of ''The Bookman'' (New York)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreas, Jean
1856 births
1910 deaths
Writers from Athens
Greek art critics
French-language poets
Greek essayists
Greek emigrants to France
Symbolist novelists
Symbolist poets
19th-century Greek writers
19th-century male writers
19th-century essayists
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery