Ekphrasis

{{Use American English|date = February 2019}}

{{Use American English|date = February 2019}}

'''Ekphrasis''' or '''ecphrasis''' (from the Greek) is a [[rhetorical device]] indicating the written description of a work of art.''The Chambers Dictionary'', Chambers Harrap, Edinburgh 1993 {{ISBN|0-550-10255-8}} It is a vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a [[Visual arts|visual work of art]], either real or imagined. Thus, "an ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art."The Poetry Foundation, [http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/glossary-term/ekphrasis Glossary Terms: Ekphrasis] (accessed 27 April 2015) In [[Classical antiquity|ancient times]], it might refer more broadly to a description of any thing, person, or [[experience]]. The word comes from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|ἐκ}} ''{{transliteration|grc|ek}}'' and {{lang|grc|φράσις}} ''{{transliteration|grc|phrásis}}'', 'out' and 'speak' respectively, and the verb {{lang|grc|ἐκφράζειν}} ''{{transliteration|grc|ekphrázein}}'', 'to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name'.

'''Ekphrasis''' or '''ecphrasis''' (from the Greek) is a [[rhetorical device]] indicating the written description of a work of art, either real or imagined.''The Chambers Dictionary'', Chambers Harrap, Edinburgh 1993 {{ISBN|0-550-10255-8}} In [[Classical antiquity|ancient times]], it might refer more broadly to a description of any thing, person, or [[experience]]. The word comes from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|ἐκ}} ''{{transliteration|grc|ek}}'' and {{lang|grc|φράσις}} ''{{transliteration|grc|phrásis}}'', 'out' and 'speak' respectively, and the verb {{lang|grc|ἐκφράζειν}} ''{{transliteration|grc|ekphrázein}}'', 'to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name'.

The works of art described or evoked may be real or imagined; and this may be difficult to discern. Ancient ekphrastic writing can be useful evidence for art historians, especially for paintings, as virtually no original Greco-Roman examples survive.

The works of art described or evoked may be real or imagined; and this may be difficult to discern. Ancient ekphrastic writing can be useful evidence for art historians, especially for paintings, as virtually no original Greco-Roman examples survive.