Of Portuguese Jewish extraction, Mendès was born inBordeaux.[1] After childhood and adolescence in Toulouse, he arrived in Paris in 1859 and quickly became one of the protégés of the poetThéophile Gautier. He promptly attained notoriety with the publication in theLa Revue fantaisiste (1861) of hisRoman d'une nuit, for which he was condemned to a month's imprisonment and a fine of 500 francs. He was allied withParnassianism from the beginning of the movement and displayed extraordinary metrical skill in his first volume of poems,Philoméla (1863). His critics have noted that the elegant verse of his later volumes is distinguished rather by dexterous imitation of different writers than by any marked originality. The versatility and fecundity of Mendès' talent is shown in his critical and dramatic writings, including several libretti, and in his novels and short stories. His short stories continue the French tradition of the licentiousconte.[2]
In his early period, Mendès sometimes published under the pseudonym Jacques Rollin.[3][4]
In 1866, Mendès marriedJudith Gautier, the younger daughter of his mentor Théophile. They soon separated, and in 1869 he began cohabiting with the composerAugusta Holmès with whom he had five children, including:[5]
Huguette Mendès (1871–1964)
Claudine Mendès (1876–1937)
Helyonne Mendès (1879–1955)
The couple parted in 1886, and he later married the poetJeanne Mette, who was to be his last companion.[6]
Early on the morning of 8 February 1909, the body of Mendès was discovered in the railway tunnel ofSaint Germain. He had left Paris by the midnight train on the 7th, and it is supposed that, thinking he had arrived at the station, he had opened the door of his compartment while still in the tunnel,[2] although some biographers have suggested suicide. His body was interred at theMontparnasse Cemetery.[6]
Le Collier de Saphirs (1891), Pantomime in two tableaux, music byGabriel Pierné
Le Docteur Blanc (1893), Mimodrame Fantastique in one act, music by Gabriel Pierné
Médée (1898), in three acts and in verse
La Reine Fiammette (1898), aconte dramatique in six acts and in verse, set in Renaissance Italy, later set to music byXavier Leroux, for which see:La reine Fiammette
In the same year, Catulle Mendès wrote inLe Figaro that it was after readingGobineau'sLes Religions et les Philosophies dans d´Asie centrale (The religions and philosophies of central Asia) that he had the idea to write a drama about the first woman disciple of the Báb: the Persian erudite and illustrious poetTahéreh.[7]
Le NU auSALON, 1900 (published in 1901). The cover image is of a painting byJules Scalbert, gravure deLouis Geisler [fr].
Richard Wagner (1886)
L'Art au théâtre (3 vols; 1896–1900), a series of dramatic criticisms reprinted from newspapers
A report addressed to the minister of public instruction and of the fine arts onLe Mouvement poétique francais de 1867 à 1900 (new ed., 1903), which includes a bibliographical and critical dictionary of the French poets of the 19th century.
L'Évangile de la jeunesse de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ d'apres S. Pierre mis en français par Catulle Mendès après le manuscrit de l'Abbaye de Saint Wolfgang (1894). Presented as a lost Latin document from the abbey ofSt. Wolfgang im Salzkammergut, with a translation by Mendès into French, although considered by most to have been aliterary forgery entirely written by Mendès.[8]
^abOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mendès, Catulle".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 124–125. The bibliography is partly derived from this article.
%2c_Claudine_(1876%25E2%2580%25931937)%2c_and_Helyonne_(1879%25E2%2580%25931955).jpg)
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mendès, Catulle".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 124–125. The bibliography is partly derived from this article.
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