 Hoffmann), French bohemians Théophile Gautier and Gérard de Nerval and, above all, the poetry of Charles Baudelaire and the works of American writer Edgar Allan Poe.The group also helped with the introduction of Wagner's music into Italy, with musician Franco Faccio (1840–1891) conducting the first Italian performances of "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg".The major figures of the movement were the poet and painter Emilio Praga (1839–1875) and the poet and musician Arrigo Boito (1842–1918).