This article analyses firstly a few statements released in memory of Gilbert Durand after his death in 2012, then the meaning of his study of the imaginary as it was explained by the philosopher himself in his lecture Fondements et perspectives d’une philosophie de l’imaginaire (Québec 1989), and finally the mythocritical and mythoanalytical methods that he applied to art and literature. A connection appears clearly between Gilbert Durand’s biography – his commitment to the fight against totalitarianism and the painful experiences he endured – and the direction of his research determined by the crisis of a long-established value system. Durand’s research was inspired by Gaston Bachelard’s teaching, while he discovered the notion of archetype, which he investigated in depth, in Jung’s works; thanks to Henry Corbin, he became aware of the religious matrix in the formation of human psyche.