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Abstract
The extravagant readings of Poussin'sShepherds of Arcadia may serve to define what a good reading should be.
To read well, unlike certain Kabbalistic decodings, we must neither eliminate the surface of the work nor disengage ourselves from its structure. Good reading takes into account the ordinary appearance of the work, without trying to substitute a secret essence. Nothing is more contrary to the correct interpretation of classical and literary works than the practice of rebus and riddles. The meaning of the work is not hidden. It's simply the meaning that's oblique, apparent, but deployed in all its intricacies and implications. The meaning isn't behind us: it's in front of us, like Poe's stolen letter. It is the exact expression of form. Meaning and form are inextricably linked.
Paul Valéry said: "The deepest thing about man is his skin It's the skin of the work and the text that needs to be touched and made to quiver, that needs to be made to vibrate in order to listen to its resonances and harmonics.
The "world" created by Poussin's painting, to borrow a phrase from Heidegger, does not emerge from nowhere. It is part of a cultural history of images and ideas. The iconological approach, despite its potential shortcomings, is a great help here.
Et in Arcadia ego" was Le Guerchin's first treatment of the theme. In this painting with its Caravaggesque aesthetic, very different from Poussin's, shepherds worthy of a Nativity look at or uncover a skull. The inscription is almost external to the image: it plays only a commentary role, without being integrated into the action depicted. This theme brings together two competing traditions: the ancient one, on engraved gems, depicts shepherds contemplating a skull in a meditative mode; the medieval one, embodied by the Dit des trois morts et des trois vifs, is dramatic in inspiration. Both modes are present in Le Guerchin's painting.
In 1618, the painter had already used the same shepherd figures in a depiction of the torture of Marsyas, as if the skull were that of the satyr after he had been flayed. Curiously, Poussin'sfirst version ofEt in Arcadia ego served as a counterpart to a depiction of King Midas, who served as judge in the contest between Apollo and Marsyas. Was Poussin familiar with the two Guerchin paintings? At the very least, a collector may have wanted to commission equivalents.
