The Imperceptible Detail: Flies and Fleas in Georges de La Tour’s Paintings

Authors

Katalin Bartha-Kovács
Szegedi Tudományegyetem
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4552-1585
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14232/

Synopsis

This paper deals with the motifs of flies and fleas in two paintings by the 17th-century French artist Georges de La Tour. From a distance, these two tiny insects are barely visible, inconspicuous black dots that can only be revealed by a closer look. This study aims to show that the inclusion of the fly and the flea in the paintings was a conscious decision of the artist, which adds supplementary meaning to the picture, can change its perception, and may also lead to its reinterpretation.

Keywords: imperceptible detail, Georges de La Tour, fly, flea

Author Biography

Katalin Bartha-Kovács, Szegedi Tudományegyetem

is an associate professor at the Department of French Studies at the University of Szeged. Her research interests include the theory of art in France in the 17th and 18th centuries (especially the writings of Denis Diderot on art); research of motifs (the concept of silence, the je-ne-sais-quoi, the theories of passions, representations of animals: the monkey). Her most recent publications are: Diderot et Watteau. Vers une poétique de l’image au XVIIIe siècle (Paris, L’Harmattan, 2019) and Hét arabeszk – Watteau-olvasatok (ed. Krisztina Bertók, Budapest, Martin Opitz Kiadó, 2021).

1. kötet borító

Downloads

56-74.

Volume

Állati jelképek: Irodalmi és művészettörténeti mozaikok

Pages

56-74

Published

September 20, 2024

Series

Animalia eBooks

Online ISSN

3057-9465
Copyright (c) 2024 SZTE BTK Animalia Kutatóközpont

How to Cite

Bartha-Kovács, Katalin. 2024. “The Imperceptible Detail: Flies and Fleas in Georges De La Tour’s Paintings”. In Állati jelképek: Irodalmi és művészettörténeti Mozaikok, edited by Éva Vígh, Edit Újvári, Anna Kérchy, and Emma Bálint, 1.:56-74. Animalia EBooks. SZTE BTK Animalia Kutatóközpont. https://doi.org/10.14232/.