Photography and literature in Blow-Up by Julio Cortázar

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.60056/CCL.2025..38-47

Keywords:

ekphrasis, photography, fantastic literature, Julio Cortázar, Blow-Up

Abstract

The article examines photography in Blow-Up by Julio Cortázar from the point of view of its representation, its functions, and its relationship to literature. While making use predominantly of close reading, the analysis also takes into account some reflections of the Argentinian author on the topics in question exposed elsewhere. A conclusion is reached that despite their distinct differences, photography and literature collaborate in the field of knowledge: they are both represented as means to reach the truth, as well as in the field of ethics: they both serve the moral engagement of the protagonist. Finally, the fantastic irruption of the character into the blow-up allows for aesthetic interpretations, as well.

Author Biography

  • Teodora Tzankova, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"

    Teodora Tzankova received her PhD in 2012 from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” for her dissertation on ‘The Portrait in Literary Modernism (Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, and José Martínez Ruiz alias Azorín)’. She is a Senior Assistant Professor at the Department of Hispanic Studies at the same university. Her research interests are in the vast fields of the arts, literature, and literary translation, in which she often takes a comparative approach. Her latest project is on intersemiotic translation, particularly on ekphrasis in contemporary Spanish fiction.

References

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Published

2025-10-14

Issue

Vol. 11 (2025)

Section

I. Dialogues, continuité, ouverture: le cas des littératures romanes

License

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How to Cite

Photography and literature in Blow-Up by Julio Cortázar. (2025). Colloquia Comparativa Litterarum, 11, 38-47. https://doi.org/10.60056/CCL.2025..38-47