Baudelaire Judged by Spanish Critics, 18571957

Baudelaire was practically unknown in Spain until the last two decades of the nineteenth century when the first important criticism of his work was published by two famous critics, Juan Valera and Clarn. Valera attacked Les Fleurs du mal on aesthetic grounds, basing his criticism entirely on the "satanic" poems. At the same time, Clarn published a series of articles favorable to Baudelaire. Save for Clarn, Spanish critics in the first two decades of the twentieth century based their opinions of Baudelaire solely on Les Fleurs du mal. A notable exception was an article written around 1910 by Emilia Pardo Bazan based on the full scope of Baudelaire's work. Since the 1920s Spanish critics have come to share the high esteem which Baudelaire continues to receive throughout the world.