Monday Morning Writing Prompt: Ekphrasis

Ekphrasis or ecphrasis is the graphic, often dramatic description of a visual work of art. In ancient times it referred to a description of any thing, person, or experience. The word comes from the Greek ek and phrasis, ‘out’ and ‘speak’ respectively, verb ekphrazein, to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name. (Wikipedia)

For our prompt I’d like to invite you spend a few moments with a friend of mine, Vincent Van Gogh. There is such a combination of beauty and tragedy in his life. You probably know he was an (apparent) failure at everything he tried during his lifetime: love,  the ministry,  and art. When he lived for a few days after his suicide attempt, he told his brother, Theo, that he couldn’t even succeed at taking his own life.

You may want to check out some of his art work on the Internet. Write an poetic ekphrasis using an image or Van Gogh himself as the subject. Here are a couple of his paintings to help you get started:

Vincent VanGogh--Public Domain

Vincent VanGogh--Public Domain