The ekphrasis in biofiction about artists. A case study of Giovanna Pierini’s La Dama con il Ventaglio

Abstract

The article analyzes the use of ekphrasis as a key literary device in Giovanna Pierini’s biographical novel The Lady with the Fan, which is about the life of the artist Sofonisba Anguissola. Relying on classifications proposed by Elena Yatsenko, the author is using a typologization of ekphrasis “by volume”: the “full” ekphrasis, which provides detailed descriptions of works, often emphasizing technical and stylistic details, and the “condensed” ekphrasis, where works of art are briefly mentioned, serving to advance the plot and convey the cultural context of the era. Special attention is given to indirect ekphrasis, classified by the object of description and corresponding to the classical definition of the trope, through which details of painting techniques and emotional perceptions of artworks are conveyed. The study demonstrates how biographical prose about artists broadens the discourse on the paragone of the arts through the interplay between visual and verbal forms of art, what is illustrated through examples of ekphrases of Sofonisba Anguissola’s works, as well as through the analysis of techniques, methods, and various types of perception that Pierini employs to recreate artistic imagery through descriptions of the creative process. Thus, the relevance of using ekphrasis in prose is substantiated not only from an aesthetic perspective but also for the development of narrative within an art-historical framework.