The Order of Words and the Order of Things in Painting

Abstract

The term "representation in this paper is taken in the sense that was given it by the grammarians and logicians of Port-Royal. The semiotic experiment attempted here explores the fluctuations of meaning produced by interferences between textual and figurative representation within one picture. Examples such as the portrait with its presentation of the subject and the topographical city plan with its representation of space by drawing and typographic naming of places provide the foundation for a more in-depth exploration of the Ex-voto of 1662, by Philippe de Champaigne. This painting is an exceptional illustration of the interference between image and text.