NABA students reinterpret Schiele, Magritte, and Ghirri through ekphrastic writing

Three students from NABA's Critical Writing course in Milan produced personal, expressive descriptions of works by Egon Schiele, René Magritte, and Luigi Ghirri. The exercise focused on ekphrasis—a non-academic, highly subjective approach to art writing. Federico Bianchini described Schiele's 1908 painting "Nackter Knabe auf gemusterter Decke liegend" (Young Nude Lying on a Decorated Blanket), focusing on the figure's green hair and pubic hair, his masturbation, and the contrast between the golden background and the dark blanket. Giulia Tortora evoked Magritte's 1954 "L'Empire des lumières" (The Empire of Light), describing a street scene at dusk where the sky remains bright while the road is dark, creating an oxymoron of light and shadow. The third student wrote about Ghirri's 1992 photograph "Roncocesi," depicting a figure disappearing into fog in the Po Valley. The text references Gianni Celati's remark that Ghirri wanted to photograph "the breath of the earth" and notes that the film was developed after Ghirri's death. The course was part of the 2021/2022 academic year at NABA – Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan.