Mallarmé’s Tuesdays - Philosophical Concept | Alexandria
Mallarmes Tuesdays, an enigmatic salon hosted by the symbolist poet Stephane Mallarme at his Parisian apartment on the rue de Rome, represent far more than a weekly gathering. They embody a pivotal moment in the late 19th-century artistic landscape, a crucible where nascent avant-garde ideas were forged. Often romanticized as simple literary salons, the Tuesdays were, in reality, complex intellectual symposia that defied easy categorization.
The genesis of the Tuesdays can be traced back to the mid-1880s, gaining momentum after his appointment teaching English at the Lycee Fontanes (later Lycee Condorcet). Evidence of these gatherings appears in Mallarme's correspondence from this period, mentioning informal meetings with fellow writers and artists. This era, marked by rapid industrialization and societal upheaval, also witnessed the burgeoning of symbolist aesthetics, a movement seeking deeper truths beyond the realm of realism.
Over time, Mallarmes Tuesdays metamorphosed into a significant cultural force, attracting luminaries from various artistic disciplines. Paul Valery, W.B. Yeats, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Edgar Degas were among the regulars, engaging in fervent discussions on poetry, art, music, and philosophy. These dialogues, often fueled by Mallarme's cryptic pronouncements, sparked experimental approaches to artistic creation. Anecdotes abound of heated debates, artistic collaborations born within those walls, and the quiet influence Mallarme held over his devotees. It remains a subject of speculation how much these conversations directly influenced symbolist theory and practice.
Mallarmes Tuesdays left an indelible mark on the development of modern art and literature, serving as a model for future artistic collectives and intellectual circles. The salon's emphasis on experimentation, subjective experience, and the power of suggestion resonated with subsequent generations of artists. Even today, the legacy of Mallarmes Tuesdays continues to inspire, as artists and scholars grapple with the complexities of symbolist thought. But what truly transpired within those walls, and how much of the legend obscures the reality?