الرسم و تقويض لعبة التمثل: فوكو و الرسم

Abstract

This article examines the intersection of philosophy and visual arts in the thought of Michel Foucault, focusing on his critical interpretation of painting as a means to undermine traditional "representation" (la représentation). The author questions why a philosopher primarily known for analyzing power and discourse turned to painting, arguing that visual space is fundamental to the epistemic regime of any era, defined by the articulation between "the visible" and "the articulable".

The paper analyzes Foucault's readings of key artistic developments, particularly his critique of Édouard Manet, whose work disrupted classical perspective and lighting to assert the materiality and flat surface of the canvas, in dialogue with Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological approach to Paul Cézanne. The study concludes that Foucault’s engagement with painting was not an aesthetic distraction, but an essential philosophical project aimed at deconstructing visual icons and exposing the representational frameworks through which knowledge and power operate