French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. Tripet, Poétique du secret. Paradoxes et maniérisme
Medieval and Renaissance Studies

POÉTIQUE DU SECRET. PARADOXES ET MANIÉRISME, Arnaud TRIPET, Paris, Honoré Champion, collection "Études, essais sur la Renaissance", 2007, 236 pages

EAN : 9782745314451

54 €

Publisher's description:

The secret has always intrigued and continually fascinated writers and painters. Thematically, it has often appeared as a symbol of perceptual failure or evidence of the concealment of being (Heidegger). Yet it can also hint at a transcendence, earthly or otherwise. It has given rise to a practice of suggestion and an obscurity that is by no means synonymous with nothingness. To be or not to be: such is the paradoxical synthesis it frequently offers. This has been true across the ages, from Chinese landscapes to the masks of the Most Serene Republic, from the codes of courtly love to those of *honnêteté*, and from the fashion for emblems to the playful ingenuity of Arcimboldo. This also suggests that a fondness for a reality whose representation delights in a game of hide-and-seek is one of the defining hallmarks of the Mannerist era.

The study of hidden meaning and artistic concealment connects deeply with broader discussions in art history and literary criticism regarding the aesthetics of the Renaissance. Scholars of early modern culture frequently examine how visual and literary works negotiate the boundary between revelation and obscurity. In this context, Mannerism emerges as a defining stylistic period characterized by playful ingenuity, paradox, and a fascination with codes of representation that favor suggestion over direct statement.

Readers interested in the intersections of Renaissance art, literature, and the poetics of ambiguity may find this volume relevant to their inquiries.