Charles Baudelaire, a French poet living in the 1800’s, strictly rejects the belief of the supreme power of nature and goodness of man and instead promotes aesthetic pleasure and beauty and an awareness of the human spirit. In “The Painter of Modern Life”, Baudelaire discusses the importance of fleeting moments upon which we exist. In this passage, he reflects upon the beauty of the past and realizes that human perception is the most influential factor of everyday life. After analyzing this passage, I realize I feel extremely similarly when stating that every moment we encounter and create is dramatically beautiful, if only we let it. He suggests that moments are not only beautiful in the present moment, but also when reflecting upon our past. It is by no accident that Baudelaire repeats the word ‘present’ four times in three short lines. This sense of repetition shows the importance of always connecting pieces of the past to the present and that simply being present is the rarest gift of all, one where we realize the significance of paying attention and not living too far into the future. An analysis of this passage by Charles Baudelaire reveals that when comparing pieces of art from the past and the future, they are significantly similar in meaning depending on individual human perception, each being’s definition of modernity, and the power of choice.
Baudelaire suggests that painters are not the only people who get to decide what beauty they see before them. Even if the painter is in control of every aspect, every design image, and every shadow and angle of each painting, the viewer is in total control of what they perceive and feel from the image. Human perception is what makes humans so powerful and capable of analyzing different forms of art in a multitude of different ways. Perception is what allows us to create records of our thoughts and analyzes our ability to relate to this ever changing world around us. Man exists relative to every other perishable being because of our ability to perceive, adapt, and open our minds to leave pieces of ourselves as relics and fragments in history. When reflecting upon an image from the past, it is even more beautiful when realizing its historical significance and value. Baudelaire clearly states that being present is the most rewarding. Being present, upon viewing an old form of art, is just as incredible as experiencing that art for the first time hundreds or thousands of years ago all depending upon our perception of it. Baudelaire shows that art has a way to transcend many fragments of everyday life and to transform them into a lasting image, even though everyday moments are ephemeral. Our time on earth is extremely transient but Baudelaire shows that art captures a specific and temporary period of time which is then transformed into a hard copy of art in a more permanent way.
This passage has direct relation to modernity, truly coined by Charles Baudelaire. This excerpt shows that any piece of art or art medium has the ability to be modernized and to transcend a period of time. Modernity is a set of attitudes and beliefs relative to the ever changing world around us, and is a way of life that promotes the past to engage with our present and future and to find new ways to express freedom, individualism and equality. This idea of modernity was inspired directly from the Age of Enlightenment, the era that understood human being’s thoughts and fears and inspired people to be triumphant against those fears, to reject tradition and to live a life unafraid of diversity. In this period of Enlightenment, and in this passage alone, Baudelaire demanded that humans must start to reflect and analyze their own era and their own individual selves to create a meaningful life around them. This attitude posed by Baudelaire exactly mirrors enlightenment at the heart of it: having the courage to use your own mind and make your own reasoned decisions without guidance of another. This analysis of modernity from this passage in “The Painter of Modern Life” shows how Baudelaire’s thoughts and words have a way to transcend any passage of time, allowing this to be applicable to many stages of life and any time period. This piece of writing is his way of expressing that any individual can create their own definition and sense of aesthetic beauty in their own lives to satisfy their own personal needs. He bridges the gap between the past and the present by showing others that they can always make a piece of work relevant and applicable to their lives depending upon what their passions are and what defines beauty for them.
This passage resembles the power of choice. One must truly choose to be modern and must adapt a new set of attitudes in order to develop new strengths and new freedoms. The power of choice lies within our pleasure in what we choose to see before us and behind us: to choose which pieces of our past are going to travel into our future and to choose to see the beauty behind those fleeting moments. This sense of choice is often difficult to adapt because the road is very uncertain where it may lead, but choosing to value modernity and a sense of individualism and freedom are often the first steps in opening our minds and creating a life worth remembering and actually being present. This analyzation of this passage shows the importance of the culture of difference. The culture of difference is a way to illuminate the limits that humans face, and the leaps that certain individuals take in order to break free from those limits. Modernity, in Baudelaire’s world, is a way to choose an individual attitude in order to become unhinged from limits they face and to respond to their historical past.
After diving deep and analyzing this section of text from “The Painter of Modern Life,” it’s quite clear to say that Baudelaire is screaming how important it is to perceive, adapt, open your mind, make smart choices (even if they are hard) and to live in the present moment. The present moment is full of choices and within those choices, we learn to grow and cultivate a new sense of awareness of the human spirit. There is a huge need for self-empowerment when choosing to be present and open your mind, but it’s completely possible and extremely enlightening. We are engulfed in all these wonderful moments, but many are too busy to notice. There are endless beautiful moments if only we remain present.