Gaspard de la Nuit: Fantaisies à la mannière de Rembrandt et Callot par Louis Bertrand

Felicien Rops, frontispiece 1868 edition

Art has always two antithetical sides, as if of a medal where one side would show the likeness of Paul Rembrandt, and the reverse, that of Jacques Callot. - Rembrandt is the philosopher with a white beard which spirals as it ends, his mind absorbed in meditation and prayer, who closes his eyes to gather himself, talking to the spirits of beauty, science, wisdom and love, and burning to penetrate the mysterious symbols of nature. - Callot, however, is the lancer and saucy braggart strutting about the place who makes noise in the tavern, who caresses the daughters of gypsies, who swears by his sword and his gun, whose only concern is to wax his mustache. The author of this book has considered art under this double personification.

In 1842 Bertrand's book of poems was released, after the efforts of several faithful friends, including the rather famous Sainte-Beuve who wrote the introduction to this first edition, but especially the concentrated efforts of David D'Angers. His book would become a cornerstone for Baudelaire, Mallarmé and the symbolists, Breton and the surrealists. Baudelaire acknowledges his influence on his prose poem text Le Spleen de Paris because Bertrand is largely considered the founder of the form, even if unknown and ignored. 
 

The strange text folds over and over on itself so that the voice of the narrator becomes confused among characters and authorial presences.

Bertrand's strange prose poems embrace the pictorial as the Romantics generally did, but all the more so for claiming to be inspired by two great artists and opening with a discussion of art. After a quote from Sainte Beuve and a poem, the next page presents a shaggy dog story in which the narrator recounts being told that art is not many things by a man who starts off seeming friendly, becomes increasingly strange, and then thrusts a book on him. The man, he discovers the next day, who had offered his name as he was leaving, Gaspard de la Nuit, is the devil. The narrator, unable to return the book, wishes him to burn in hell and decides to publish the book. We get the next Preface from which the above quote is excerpted, followed by a dedication to Victor Hugo dated 1836, then finally the title page of the 'devil' book simply titled Les Fantaisies de Gaspard de la Nuit.

Beyond the issue of art within the contained text of the poems, he also imagined the art of the published book. He specified directions not only for the layout of the text, but the illustrations he desired and where they might be placed. Three pages of notes included with the manuscript to the editor were ignored. He was not a great artist but he did produce some drawings that give a sense of what he imagined the artist could do better. Unfortunately, despite his interest in ensuring the role of the visual in his work, it would not be there, except for the occasional frontplate, or page ornamentation.