L U I S   C A S T E L L V     L A U K A M P .   Hispanic Baroque Ekphrasis. Góngora, Camargo,   Sor Juana. Cambridge: Legenda, 2020. 220 pp.     Hispanic Baroque Ekphrasis is an exquisitely written and illustrated book  that  reconsiders  the  imitation  and  transmission  of  culture  between  the  Spanish  Golden  Age  and  Viceregal  Latin  American  literatures.  More  specifically,  it  delves  into  Luis  de  Góngora  s  presence  in  Latin  America,   785 focusing  on  Hernando  Domínguez  Camargo  s  San  Ignacio  (1666)  and  Sor  Juana Inés de la Cruz  s Primero sueño (1692). These and other poetic texts,  Luis Castellví Laukamp argues,   followed Spanish models   to show that  they  could  master  their  techniques,  while  simultaneously  diverging  from  them to offer something different, which would cause readers to wonder  anew   (12). For the uses of ekphrasis, this engaging volume veers away from    restrictive   definitions where it is seen as a description of a work of art.  Instead, for Castellví Laukamp, ekphrasis refers to:   Descriptions of any kind  of  persons,  places,  objects     if  they  appealed  to  the  mind  s  eye  of  listeners/readers   (9). Perhaps too broad at times, this definition enables  the author to show the importance of diglossia, a kind of doublespeak, in  Viceregal poets.   The book is divided into six chapters, two each on Góngora, Camargo  and  Sor  Juana,  providing  new  insights  and  approaches.  The  first  chapter  consists of a detailed and exciting analysis of a passage from the Soledad  primera (verses 182-211). Here, the shipwrecked pilgrim is taken by his host  to  a  hill  from  which  he  can  admire  a  panoramic  view  of  the  landscape  punctuated by a river. This moment serves to show the conjoining and clash  between  two  visual  devices:  teichoscopy  and  ekphrasis.  Teichoscopy,  the  view from above, is often used in the epic, as when Helen looks down on the  armies below the walls of Troy. It is often found in Golden Age texts, from  Calderón to Cervantes. Castellví Laukamp points to the main difference here     no battle is about to be fought, and we have a serene landscape rather than  a land replete with warriors. Teichoscopy  s totalizing vision is transformed  into a landscape that resembles a painting. Turning to several   obstacles   to  a full view such as the appearance of a fog, the haze from the sun, and the  blinding brightness of the landscape, the author of the book makes a most  inspired observation, that the Soledad primera here is pointing to specific  artistic technique; and that in the act of concealing the landscape Góngora is  also representing his own style:   Likewise, the impact of sunlight on the mist  blurs the contours of the landscape even more for the reader, potentially  achieving a result in the mind  s eye comparable to that of paintings which  are depicted with the  sfumato technique    that is, the burring of borders  between  colours  so  that  tone  transitions  become  almost  imperceptible    (34).   Chapter  Two  turns  to  a  panoramic  seascape  in  the  Soledad  segunda.  Here, teichoscopy easily gives way to a more complex ekphrasis, one based  on paintings of seascapes. Figures of mythology are more prominent, and so  are people. Vessels for fishing and galleons for conquest create a picture that  captivates the senses but is also ominous    Castellví Laukamp concurs with  many who read the ships and shipwrecks as images of imperial decay. More  importantly, he shows how a double perspective enriches the ekphrasis     786 that of the angler who attempts to intervene in the scene and that of the  pilgrim who merely listens, seeing in his mind  s eye the angler  s description.  Indeed, the ekphrasis   conveys the message that, no matter how dramatic  or terrible a motif may seem, it can always be appreciated as a work of art    (61).   Chapter Three begins discussion of Hernando Domínguez de Camargo,  a native of New Granada. His monumental poem San Ignacio, was written  over a period of thirty years and was published posthumously in Madrid in  1666, where it had little impact. Although written as an epic, it resembles  Góngora  in  that  it  often  moves  away  from  the  protagonist  to  indulge  in  detailed descriptions and in metaphorical ornamentation. Perhaps the most  striking ekphrasis is that of the crucifix that Ignatius placed on a ledge in the  cave of Manresa. Ignatius, in the poem, must look upwards thus creating a  reverse teichoscopy. While on the one hand the crucifix becomes a place for  spiritual  meditation,  for  the  contemplation  of  suffering  and  eventual  spiritual triumph, on the other, the object is a sculptural representation of  Christ,  and  thus  becomes  a  work  of  art  that  is  aestheticized  as  reality  is  embellished. Delving into gongoristic aesthetics, Camargo goes well beyond  the  hagiographic  tradition,  and  turns  to  the  profane,  creating  a  diglossia  between  religious  orthodoxy  and  artistic  experimentation.  Chapter  Four  continues  the  exploration  of  Camargo  s  poem,  this  time  turning  to  the  description of Ignatius   rapture at a chapel dedicated to St. Lucy. Although  acknowledging  that  Camargo  takes  as  his  starting  point  Ignatian  hagiographies,  Castellví  Lukamp  stresses  that  the  poet  adds  images  from  Góngora and Marino. He divides the chapter in two sections, one the ad intra  rapture (the vision) and the second the ad extra (the setting). Particularly  striking in the latter are the rustic banquet as a kind of poetic still life and a  procession of pagan gods that come to mourn Ignatius, thinking he is dead  rather  than  in  rapture,  thus  comingling    grieving  and  display    (120).  For  Castellví  Lukamps  the  ekphrastic  tools  serve  to  deliver    a  less  dogmatic  view of Ignatius   life and reality than that endorsed by the sanctioned Jesuit  sources   (126).   Two chapters on Sor Juana round out this fascinating book. It would be  impossible  in  this  brief  review  to  point  to  the  ekphrastic  riches  here  displayed:  the  lighthouse  of  Alexandria,  and  the  pyramids  of  Memphis.  Castellví  Lukamp  approaches  these  well-known  images  in  an  enticing  manner. Turning to a transatlantic vision of the baroque, this book clearly  shows  that  Gongorism  in  Viceregal  Latin  America  was  an  instrument  to  think  and to  create  with  liberty.  Written with  subtlety  and enargeia,  this          787 thoughtful volume provides important new insights into Góngora, Camargo  and Sor Juana.    FREDERICK A. DE ARMAS   University of Chicago