Joris-Karl Huysmans

French writer and art critic. His real name was Georges Charles Huysmans. He was born in Paris to a family of Dutch painters. He became a naturalized French citizen along with his father, a miniature painter. His father's bloodline was a penchant for art, and his mother's remarriage cast a shadow over his work as he distrusted women. After completing his studies, he joined the Ministry of the Interior, and continued to work as a minor civil servant until almost the end of his life while also writing. His debut work, The Cruet Box (1874), was a pictorial prose poem in the impressionist style, but he turned to prose in the wake of the popularity of naturalist literature at the time, and self-published Marthe, histoire d'une fille (1876). Recognized by Zola, he published works such as "The Batard Sisters" (1879), "The Household" (1881), "Go with the flow" (1882), and a collection of novellas that were naturalistic manifestos, "Evening in Medan" and "With a Knapsack" (1880). However, he was dissatisfied with the narrowness and monotony of the subject matter of naturalism, and in "Against" (1884) he attempted to move into the world of artificial beauty, making full use of his own fin de siècle aesthetic eye. Furthermore, in "Beyond" (1891) he sought material in the devil worship and occult science of the Middle Ages as a mystical naturalism, and after converting to Catholicism he published a trilogy starting with "Departure" (1895), which explored medieval Christianity. On the other hand, he engaged in sharp art criticism in works such as "Modern Art" (1883), praising impressionist painters.

[Kazuo Akiyama]

"The Other Side" (translated by Sadanosuke Tanabe, 1975, Tokyo Sogensha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの作家、美術評論家。本名はGeorges Charles Huysmans。オランダ系の画家の子孫でパリ生まれ。細密画家の父とともにフランスに帰化。父系の血は美術への嗜好(しこう)、母の再婚は女性不信として作品に影を落とす。学業終了後、内務省に入り、以後ほぼ晩年に至るまで小官吏として勤務のかたわら文筆活動に従事した。処女作『薬味箱』（1874）は印象派風の絵画的散文詩だったが、おりからの自然主義文学の流行を受けて散文に転向、『マルト、一娼婦(しょうふ)の物語』Marthe, histoire d'une fille（1876）を自費出版。ゾラに認められて、『バタール姉妹』（1879）や『世帯』（1881）、『流れのままに』（1882）などや自然主義宣言の小説集『メダンの夕べ』に『背嚢(はいのう)を背に』（1880）を発表する。しかし自然主義の題材の狭隘(きょうあい)さと単調さに飽き足らず、『さかしま』（1884）で自らの世紀末的審美眼を駆使した人工美の世界に転進を企て、さらに『彼方(かなた)』（1891）では神秘的自然主義として中世からの悪魔礼拝や神秘学に材を求め、カトリック回心後は中世キリスト教の探究『出発』（1895）以下三部作を発表。他方、『近代美術』（1883）などで、印象派画家を賞揚する犀利(さいり)な美術評論活動を展開した。

［秋山和夫］

『田辺貞之助訳『彼方』（1975・東京創元社）』

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