author
Champfleury
1821–1889
A sharp-eyed French novelist and art critic, he became one of the early public voices of Realism, arguing for stories and pictures rooted in ordinary life. Writing as Champfleury, he helped shape the literary and artistic debates of 19th-century France.
3 Audiobooks
Richard Wagner
by Champfleury
Les chats: Histoire; Moeurs; Observations; Anecdotes.
by Champfleury
About the author
Born Jules François Félix Fleury-Husson in Laon in 1821, Champfleury built his reputation in Paris as a novelist, journalist, and art critic. He is best remembered as an important advocate of Realism, both in fiction and in painting, and his pen name became closely tied to that movement.
His criticism helped promote the work of painter Gustave Courbet at a time when Courbet's plainspoken scenes of everyday life were still controversial. Champfleury also set out his ideas in Le Réalisme (1857), arguing for art and literature that paid serious attention to common experience rather than idealized subjects.
Although his fame later faded, he remained an influential figure in 19th-century French culture. He died in Sèvres in 1889, leaving behind work that connects literature, journalism, and art criticism at a key moment in the history of Realism.