What ideas about modern painting did Charles Baudelaire develop in his Salon reviews?

In his influential reviews of the Paris Salons of 1845 and 1846, Charles Baudelaire established himself as a pioneering art critic by developing a theory of modern painting that moved beyond traditional academic constraints.1

Key ideas he championed included:

• The Heroism of Modern Life: Baudelaire urged artists to abandon the cult of antiquity and instead celebrate the "heroism of modern life," finding beauty and significance in the contemporary urban experience.12
• Color as a Modern Quality: In his 1846 Salon essay, he argued that color would be a defining quality of modern art, a prediction that proved prophetic for the development of later movements.3
• Spirituality and the Infinite: Beyond mere realism, he identified spirituality and an aspiration toward the infinite as essential qualities of modern art.3
• The Artist’s Role: He viewed the artist as a representative of humanity who must create meaning out of the raw material of life, bringing clarity to a world he perceived as corrupt and conformist.4

Baudelaire’s critical work, particularly his later essay The Painter of Modern Life, is widely considered a prophetic foundation for the Impressionist vision.2