“Dans l’enfer de l’art pour en ramener la vie”: Some Reflections on the Myth of Pygmalion in Jacques Rivette’s La belle noiseuse.

Abstract

The article analyses the main features of the recreation of the Pygmalion myth that Jacques Rivette introduces in La belle noiseuse (1991). This recreation is part of Rivette’s free adaptation of Balzac’s famous story Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu. In the first place, the interest of the Nouvelle Vague in general, and of Rivette in particular, in the author of La Comédie humaine is briefly discussed, followed by a summary of the genesis of Balzac’s story and the emergence of the artistic interpretation of the myth of Pygmalion that the novelist adopts as the basis of his story. The analysis of Rivette's adaptation focuses on three main elements: the relationship between the creator and his model; the ambiguity of the ending; and the symbolism attributed to the spaces of action.