This book considers the changing conception of portraiture in the sixteenth century. Focusing on paintings by Giorgione, Titian, Parmigianino, and Raphael, among others, Jodi Cranston explores the significance of the formal inventions that address the presence of the beholder, and how such a visual dialogue with the beholder encourages the viewer to perceive the portrait as open and responsive. Applying methods derived from literary theory and structural analysis, this study demonstrates how sixteenth-century portraits extend contemporary efforts to perceive and receive painting as a kind of poetry.