Ekphrasis

Have you ever stared at a painting and felt like it was telling you a story? Writers have been doing that for centuries — and when they put those feelings into words, it’s called ekphrasis. Ekphrasis is a literary technique where an author vividly describes a piece of visual art, often to add emotion, meaning, or reflection to their work. It’s not just describing what the art looks like — it’s about bringing it to life on the page.

One of the oldest and most famous examples comes from The Iliad, where Homer describes the shield of Achilles in rich detail — even though it was a fictional object! Centuries later, poets and writers have continued the tradition. John Keats’s poem Ode on a Grecian Urn is a beautiful example. He reflects on an ancient Greek vase, imagining the lives of the figures painted on it, and ends with the iconic line, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty.” The poem isn’t just about the urn — it’s about timelessness, desire, and the human urge to capture life (don’t worry if you don’t get it; I don’t either. The reason for this inclusion was just that I had felt different when I read it).

Ekphrasis isn’t limited to poetry. Novelists like Oscar Wilde used it too — in The Picture of Dorian Gray, the portrait of Dorian doesn’t just hang on a wall; it becomes a haunting, magical mirror of his soul. In modern times, Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring is an entire novel inspired by Johannes Vermeer’s painting of the same name. The author imagined a backstory for the mysterious girl, turning a quiet portrait into a full-blown historical drama.

This technique helps writers bridge the gap between visual and verbal art. It allows a painting or sculpture to speak in a different language — the language of emotion, memory, and story. For readers, ekphrasis invites them to slow down and see art more deeply, often leading to a deeper appreciation of both the visual piece and the text that describes it. So the next time you visit a museum or scroll past a painting online, ask yourself: What story might this image be hiding? Ekphrasis reminds us that art isn’t silent — and with the right words, it can sing.