Abstract
This study explores pictorial narrativity in Venetian painter Lorenzo Lotto’s Portrait of a Young Man in his Studio (ca. 1527), with attention to the visual representation of mental activity as a prompt for the projection of viewers’ storyworld possible selves. The study discusses the extent to which the portrayed gentleman’s intriguing gaze, lost in introspection but at the same time seemingly fixed on viewers, can be considered a pictorial equivalent to the doubly-deictic you in verbal narratives. The doubly-deictic effect of the character’s gaze is further argued to provide access to the careful, dazzling accumulation of pictorial symbolism in the depicted studio as a pictorial stream-of-consciousness representation of the character’s frame of mind— memories, hopes, dreams, and fears—functioning in ways similar to paratactic accumulation in verbal narratives.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.