Jean-Philippe Toussaint : un minimalisme dantesque

Abstract

This article presents the references to the figure of Dante in Jean-Philippe Toussaint’s intermedia corpus. It examines the extent to which these references are not so much cultural as poetic, i.e., generative of both plastic and linguistic writing. The seemingly paradoxical expression “Dantesque minimalism” signals, at the very beginning of the reflection, Toussaint’s singular integration of this Dantesque material into his artistic production. This appropriation feeds a reflection on the stakes of creation, on the powers of fiction and the imaginary. This is why, referring to the title of Toussaint’s 2017 essay, we have chosen to speak of a “Dante Made in China”, thus displaying the very contemporary character of the Dantesque motif. In six circles, taking us from the multimedia work L’Enfer (Inferno), the highlight of the 2012 “Livre/Louvre” exhibition, to the show “Au milieu du chemin de notre vie” (“Midway along the path of our life”), jointly created with the group A Filetta and visual artist Ange Leccia to mark the seven-hundredth anniversary of the poet’s death in 2021, this article takes us on an artistic, intellectual and sensitive exploration of Toussaint’s words and images.