EKPHRASIS E VEROSIMIGLIANZA NELLE EIKONES DI FILOSTRATO IL VECCHIO

The Eikones of Philostratus the Elder describe a gallery of paintings located in Naples. While the text does not feature the term ekphrasis (description), that of sapheneia (clarity) occurs at the end of the Proem. The Eikones are centered around both ekphrasis and sapheneia: Philostratus does not just aim at "describing" objects of art, but at producing verbal images that overlap with reality, thus taking the place of the pictorial works he refers to. In this way, the Eikones are indeed a paradigmatic example of ekphrasis: it consists of a fictitious world of verbal images, whose vividness and persuasiveness bring the described artistic media “before the eyes” of the audience.