Copyright by Laura Mareike Sager 2006 - The University of Texas at ...

with a scene of real, political attack by external demons that afflict not only the
artist, but society at large. In so doing, these texts create their own “caprichos” in
competition with those of Goya, and as a reflection of their criticism of their own
contemporary society. This use of what I call dramatic ekphrasis thus
characterizes the writers’ and filmmaker’s attitude toward the function and
responsibility of the artist in society. Using the Sleep of Reason as image to be
overcome by one of awakening of reason, they emphasize the need for political
awakening and social justice through the use of reason and enlightenment.
In chapter four, another chapter on Goya’s Sleep of Reason, I discuss
Konrad Wolf’s film adaptation of Lion Feuchtwanger’s novel Goya oder der arge
Weg der Erkenntnis. Whereas the novel uses interpretive ekphrases of Goya’s
Sleep of Reason in order to portray its private-aesthetic meaning for the artist, the
film uses dramatic ekphrases of that aquatint in order to depict its socio-political
implications. However, in all of these texts in both Goya chapters, there is a
similar pattern of wavering between audience identification and distance to the
protagonist. This device provokes more active participation and involvement of
the reader and viewer, who has to negotiate his or her position with the text and
his attitude toward the protagonist. These two Goya chapters illustrate examples
of the dramatic category in filmic ekphrasis, which in both cases underscore the
art work’s socio-political dimension.
In chapter five I analyze the transmedialization of Rembrandt’s self
portraits in Alexander Korda’s film and Carl Zuckmayer’s screenplay. Here,
ekphrasis functions as mirror of Rembrandts own conscious shaping and
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