Théophile Gautier (1811-1872) started out as a painter, but he soon turned to literature. He gained a livelihood as a journalist and critic, writing poetry and novels in his spare time. Gautier excels in descriptions, and one can see in them the influence of his early interest and training in the plastic arts.

• Gautier, Théophile. The Complete Works. Trans. and ed. S.C. De Sumichrast. 12 vols. London: Athenaeum Press, 1900.
• "Théophile Gautier." Representative French Poetry. Ed. Victor E. Graham. 2nd edn. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1965. 75-80.