Albert Aurier

French critic

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Albert Aurier was a significant French critic who championed the Post-Impressionist painters Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh. He is credited with writing the first article on van Gogh in 1890 and a notable essay on Gauguin in 1891, where he supported Gauguin's Symbolism, simplicity, and "emotivity". Aurier advocated for a new approach to art criticism, suggesting that viewers should become "mystics" of new art, which he saw as a form of salvation. His critical stance helped legitimize avant-garde art, influencing the development of art criticism and appreciation for innovative artistic movements.12

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art criticism
The avant-garde problem
…of the great French critic Albert Aurier. He wrote the first article ever on van Gogh (1890)—a very positive and perceptive interpretation. In a still telling, definitive essay on Gauguin (1891), Aurier supported the artist’s Symbolism, simplicity, and “emotivity.” In a similar appreciative spirit, the French critic André Fontainas praised…
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…of the great French critic Albert Aurier. He wrote the first article ever on van Gogh (1890)—a very positive and perceptive interpretation. In a still telling, definitive essay on Gauguin (1891), Aurier supported the artist’s Symbolism, simplicity, and “emotivity.” In a similar appreciative spirit, the French critic André Fontainas praised…
Read More

Symbolism
Symbolist painting
…defined by the young critic Albert Aurier, an enthusiastic admirer of Paul Gauguin, in an article in the Mercure de France (1891). He elaborated on Moréas’s contention that the purpose of art “is to clothe the idea in sensuous form” and stressed the subjective, symbolical, and decorative functions of an…
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…defined by the young critic Albert Aurier, an enthusiastic admirer of Paul Gauguin, in an article in the Mercure de France (1891). He elaborated on Moréas’s contention that the purpose of art “is to clothe the idea in sensuous form” and stressed the subjective, symbolical, and decorative functions of an…
Read More