Ekphrasis as experience and reinvention : from the ancient novel to the baroque and neo-baroque

The essay presents two main types of ekphrasis and focuses on a specific form that enhances the emotional reaction of the viewer. It emerged in ancient times with Petronius’ novel, found expression in Baroque epic poetry (Giambattista Marino’s Adone) and has culminated in twentiethcentury novel, as in Daniele Del Giudice’s Nel museo di Reims and Manuel Puig’s El beso de la mujer araña , a camp and neo-baroque masterpiece in which cinematic ekphrasis finds ample space.