GEORGES DE LA TOUR AND THE ENIGMA OF THE VISIBLE.

Celebrated due to the aura of mystery attached to his rediscovered works in the twentieth century, Georges de La Tour’s paintings continue to be an object of scholarly interest and public fascination. Exploring the representations of light, vision and the visible in his works, this interdisciplinary study raises seminal questions regarding the nature of painting and its artistic, theological, and conceptual implications. If the visible presents an enigma in La Tour’s pictorial works, this is because familiar objects of visible reality serve as emblems of an invisible, spiritual reality. La Tour’s pursuit of likeness between image and the natural world bears the influence of the Catholic Reform’s call for the revitalization of religious imagery in the wake of Protestant iconoclastic outbreaks. Like the books shown in his paintings which are asking to be read, La Tour’s paintings are examined not just as visual depictions but also as instruments of insight, which ask to be deciphered rather than merely seen. La Tour’s paintings show how the figuration of faith as spiritual passion and illumination challenges the meanings attached to the visual realm of painterly expression. This study shows that La Tour’s emphasis on spiritual insight opens up a broader artistic, philosophical and conceptual reflection on the conditions of possibility of painting and its limitations as a visual medium. By scrutinizing what is seen and how and by questioning the position of the beholder, his works encourage meditation on the role of painting and its engagements with the visible world. "Not rediscovered until the twentieth century, the works of Georges de La Tour retain an aura of mystery. At first sight, his paintings suggest a veritable celebration of light and the visible world, but this is deceptive. The familiarity of visual experience blinds the beholder to a deeper understanding of the meanings associated with vision and the visible in the early modern period. By exploring the representations of light, vision, and the visible in La Tour's works, this interdisciplinary study examines the nature of painting and its artistic, religious, and philosophical implications. In the wake of iconoclastic outbreaks and consequent Catholic call for the revitalization of religious imagery, La Tour paints familiar objects of visible reality that also serve as emblems of an invisible, spiritual reality. Like the books in his paintings, asking to be read, La Tour's paintings ask not just to be seen as visual depictions but to be deciphered as instruments of insight. In figuring faith as spiritual passion and illumination, La Tour's paintings test the bounds of the pictorial image, attempting to depict what painting cannot ultimately show: words, hearing, time, movement, changes of heart. La Tour's emphasis on spiritual insight opens up broader artistic, philosophical, and conceptual reflections on the conditions of possibility of the pictorial medium. By scrutinizing what is seen and how, and by questioning the position of the beholder, his works revitalize critical discussion of the nature of painting and its engagements with the visible world."--Publisher's description Not Rediscovered Until The Twentieth Century, The Works Of Georges De La Tour Retain An Aura Of Mystery. Their Veritable Celebration Of Light And The Familiar, Visible World, Blinds The Beholder To A Deeper Understanding Of The Meanings Associated With Vision And The Visible In The Early Modern Period-- Introduction -- The Enigma Of The Visible -- Spiritual Passion And The Betrayal Of Painting -- The Visible And The Legible -- Flea Catching And The Vanity Of Painting -- Painting As Portal: Birth And Death Of The Sacred Image -- Epilogue. Dalia Judovitz. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 141-152) And Index. Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction 1 The Enigma of the Visible 2 Spiritual Passion and the Betrayal of Painting 3 The Visible and the Legible 4 Flea Catching and the Vanity of Painting 5 Painting as Portal: "Birth" and "Death" of the Sacred Image Epilogue Notes Index Selected Bibliography This interdisciplinary study explores George de La Tour's (1593-1652) enigmatic representations of light, vision and the visible in order to question the nature of painting and its religious, artistic and conceptual aspects. Challenging the familiarity of vision, it proposes a spiritual understanding of painting and its engagements with the world. "Not rediscovered until the twentieth century, the works of Georges de La Tour retain an aura of mystery. Their veritable celebration of light and the familiar, visible world, blinds the beholder to a deeper understanding of the meanings associated with vision and the visible in the early modern period"-- Provided by publisher