Dialectics of the Body, the Gaze, and the Interpretation
the Case of La Belle Noiseuse (1991) by Jacques Rivette.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25145/j.latente.2026.24.15Keywords:
Pintura, Cuerpo, Misoginia, Mirada, creación, hermenéuticaAbstract
La belle noiseuse (1991) is a late work by Jacques Rivette, a central figure of the French New Wave. Based on Balzac's “Le chef-d’œuvre inconnu”, this adaptation transforms the 30 pages of the literary text into a four-hour feature film, exploring the tensions between painters, art dealers, models, and lovers. This article revisits the work by questioning its hegemonic interpretation, which views it solely as a piece about pictorial creation. As an alternative reading, the present work proposes a revision of the misogyny and power dynamics presented in the script and mise-en-scène, identified through an examination of the dialectics of the body and the gaze. This strategy is the product of a “preliminary reinterpretation,” which is also subsequently challenged. This new perspective leads to the recognition of a third dialectic, that of interpretation, which allows for reflection on the successive hermeneutical processes in which the work of art participates.
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