Gazes

The presence of the beholder is an essential aspect of modern ekphrasis, just as indeed is its absence. Moreover, as we have seen, even in studies on classical ekphrasis the need has emerged to focus on the effect that the description has on the addressee. This means to emphasize the importance of the extradiegetic gazes (of the writer and reader) that directs the ekphrastic choices and the dramaturgy of gazes that are established between the author, the reader and the painted characters. What is at play in ekphrasis is the dramaturgy and the dramatisation of the gazes that are alternatively cast on the picture or try to cross it, living and reliving within it.