Citation

Darrault-Harris I. Cognit. Semiotic. (Bern) 2009; 9(5): 93-102.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Peter Lang)

DOI

10.3726/81609_93

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Starting from the semiotic analysis of a diptych by Cranach the Elder picturing Lucrece committing suicide and Judith after the murder of Holophern (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister of Dresden, Germany), we examine the plastic layouts that make those pictures readable. It is a well-known fact that those two paintings are a pictorial conversion of legendary texts (respectively the book of Judith in the Old testament and Livy's mythical history of Rome). Particular interest is given to what interpretation of the texts is thus made visible - which provides a first level of readability.

But, more precisely, our aim is to highlight the adequacy and fruitfulness of the concept of "non-genericity" (put forward by Jean Petitot in his Morphologie et esthétique , 2004), as it may prove a valuable invariant of readability not only for 16th century works, but also in general, while being efficient even today to the extent that it "guides" the contemporary spectator's interpretive perception.

Indeed, a phenomenon as non-genericity, such as it is exploited by an artist in his work, can be seen as the point of origin of a whole new process that generates the signification of the artwork.