The motif of the painted portrait, widely attested in the 19th century European literature, plays a crucial role in Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly’s works, characterized as a threshold object founded on the triad of absence, desire and phantasm. Like a game of mirrors, the portrait and the text reflect their intrinsic lack in each other, delivering the reader a disturbing face to face with death. A true isotopy of the supernatural chains itself to the portrait which, rather than appearing as the theater of memory supposed to resuscitate the past, appears as a fascinating object able to bewitch the characters. The spectrality which characterizes it transforms it into a haunted portrait filling the text with visions and spectres. In contrast to the democracy of portrait, introduced by photography, the author claims the aristocratic and sacred value of the painted image, conceived as a magical object or even a relic.

(2021). Le portrait hanté. Stratégies figuratives dans l’oeuvre de Barbey d’Aurevilly = The Haunted Portrait. Figurative strategies in Barbey d'Aurevilly’s works [journal article - articolo]. In REVUE ITALIENNE D'ÉTUDES FRANÇAISES. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10446/198532

Le portrait hanté. Stratégies figuratives dans l’oeuvre de Barbey d’Aurevilly = The Haunted Portrait. Figurative strategies in Barbey d'Aurevilly’s works

Gardini, Michela
2021-01-01

Abstract

The motif of the painted portrait, widely attested in the 19th century European literature, plays a crucial role in Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly’s works, characterized as a threshold object founded on the triad of absence, desire and phantasm. Like a game of mirrors, the portrait and the text reflect their intrinsic lack in each other, delivering the reader a disturbing face to face with death. A true isotopy of the supernatural chains itself to the portrait which, rather than appearing as the theater of memory supposed to resuscitate the past, appears as a fascinating object able to bewitch the characters. The spectrality which characterizes it transforms it into a haunted portrait filling the text with visions and spectres. In contrast to the democracy of portrait, introduced by photography, the author claims the aristocratic and sacred value of the painted image, conceived as a magical object or even a relic.
articolo
2021
Le motif du portrait peint, largement attesté dans la littérature européenne du XIXe siècle, occupe une place cruciale dans l’œuvre de Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly, se caractérisant comme un objet seuil fondé sur la triade de l’absence, du désir et du fantasme. Comme dans un jeu de miroirs, le portrait et le texte reflètent l’un dans l’autre leur manque intrinsèque, livrant au lecteur un face à face troublant avec la mort. Une véritable isotopie du surnaturel s’enchaîne autour du portrait qui, plutôt qu’apparaître comme le théâtre de la mémoire censé ressusciter le passé, apparaît comme un objet envoûtant à même d’ensorceler les personnages. La spectralité le caractérisant le transforme en un portrait hanté peuplant le texte de visions et de revenants. Contraire à la démocratie du portrait introduite par la photographie, l’auteur revendique la valeur aristocratique et sacrée de l’image peinte, conçue comme un objet magique voire une relique.
Gardini, Michela
(2021). Le portrait hanté. Stratégies figuratives dans l’oeuvre de Barbey d’Aurevilly = The Haunted Portrait. Figurative strategies in Barbey d'Aurevilly’s works [journal article - articolo]. In REVUE ITALIENNE D'ÉTUDES FRANÇAISES. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10446/198532
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10446/198532
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