The Politics of Art Criticism: Baudelaire's Exposition universelle

Art criticism, contrary to appearances, contains an ideological dimension and that ideology is at times at odds with the critic's claims. A case in point is Baudelaire's review of the "Exposition universelle" of 1855, where, in addition to barbed comments on public figures such as Ingres and Cousin, he engages in social criticism. But when his comments on the exposition are inspected more closely, Baudelaire echoes Second Empire apologists more than he criticizes them. He thus expresses a borrowed ideology, while at the same time claiming to denounce it, in an Œdipal misreading that characterizes his poetry ("Les Phares") as well as art criticism. (TR)