Entre l’art de l’invisibilité et l’art de la démesure : Marcel Proust caricaturé par Jean Cocteau
Between the art of invisibility and the art of exaggeration: Marcel Proust caricatured by Jean Cocteau

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the relationship between Marcel Proust and Jean Cocteau in connection with the problem of their “visibility” (Nathalie Heinich) based on Jean Cocteau ’s portrait (1922) of Marcel Proust and Claude Arnaud’s biographical essay (2013). In this context, Cocteau’s drawing, which conveys Marcel Proust’s extravagant character, could nowadays be considered not only a caricatural representation of the author of In Search of Lost Time, but also a demythologizing one, especially in contrast to the image of invisible Proust created by structuralist interpretations. Also, in the mediatic and theoretical contemporary context, Cocteau’s visual representation of Proust could be used to reflect on Proust ’s action (conduite) which, combined with his narrative discourse, defines the “posture” (Jérôme Meizoz) of the author of In Search… within the literary field.

• Details
• Contents