BAUMANN, EMILE. - French writer, b. at Lione on 24 Sept. 1868, d. in 1941. A thinker and philosopher, he published notable mystical essays (Trois villes saintes, 1912; L'anneau d'or des grands mystiques, 1924; Saint Paul, 1925); an aesthete of music, he wrote Les grandes formes de la musique (1905), but worked chiefly in the field of the novel. A disciple of Bourget, he is not hostile to naturalism, which, however, he reproaches for being unable to attain the spirit of things; a daring novelist, he depicts passion in a bold tone, probes human defects, and would wish
to make all their bitterness felt: his realism springs from a spiritual concern.
In his novels (La fosse aux lions, 1911; Le fer sur l'Enclume, 1920; Baptême de Pauline Ardel, 1914; Job le prédestiné, 1923, etc.), strongly pessimistic in tone, he directs the spirit toward that supernatural realm with which nature is, in his eyes, permeated: especially in L'Immolé (1908), he exalts the presence of Christ in man and in the world. Stern, sincere, but harsh, in more recent novels (Mon frère le Dominicain, 1927; Les Chartreux, 1928, etc.) he has made a note of greater calm and gentleness heard. The form is often confused, unsuitable, hard and rough; it is not lacking in dissonances, but is capable of stirring the reader.