François Delsarte, un catholique atypique du xixe siècle

The researches of François Delsarte, singer and teacher of singing and declamation during the 19th century, had a decisive influence in the evolution of the performing arts during the next century. Based on thousands of observations of expressive realities, these researches are structured by an anthropological and metaphysical theoretical frame dominated by the Trinity. Delsarte built this theoretical frame from what he learnt in the various groups he met during his spiritual formation, going from Saint-Simonian circles in the early 1830s, to Jesuits and Dominicans at the end of these years. He made a synthesis of elements from the hermetic thought, the Christian esotericism, the theology of Christian thinkers of the early centuries, and, above all, from the anthropology and the theology of Thomas Aquinas. This article, based on the contributions of the last doctoral thesis on this artist, presents the diverse circles frequented by Delsarte, and highlights the importance of his conversion to Christianism and the links between this conversion, human body and expressive realities