The secret life of images: from the portraits of Auristela in Persiles to the limits of Neoplatonism.

Abstract

Cervantes’ last novel, Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda, through the multiple portraits of Auristela, elicits a reflection on portraiture, delving into the tension between two seemingly irreconcilable aspects. On one hand, there is the vitality of an object with an extraordinary capacity to influence those who contemplate it. On the other hand, portraiture is considered a part of the Neoplatonic heritage, particularly concerning the concept of the lady that arises from the trope of the inner portrait etched in the lover’s soul and its confrontation with the physical portrait. In the Persiles, the portraits of Auristela often function as autonomous entities independent of their model, calling into question the logic of referentiality. Thus, by pushing the premises of Neoplatonism to almost unsustainable extremes and removing them from their natural domain, lyrical poetry, Cervantes reveals in his prose the unattainable banality of the cult of the lady through an idealization that is beyond the grasp of reality. In doing so, albeit tangentially, a commentary is also being made on the immeasurable power of religious imagery in Counter-Reformation Spain.