Metamorphosis in the Arts (c.500-c.1700)

A special issue of Arts (ISSN 2076-0752).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2023) | Viewed by 3356

Special Issue Editor

James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Interests: influence of ancient Greek and Roman texts on the social and political culture of Renaissance Italy; painted narratives deriving from classical epic poetry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue considers the phenomenon of metamorphosis within oral traditions, literary genres, and the visual and theatrical arts dating from approximately 500 to 1700. Contributors are invited to submit articles examining the role of metaphysical transformation within the interplay of contexts—social, sacred, geographical, political, economic, and intellectual—in which they originated, were re-imagined, and/or developed across time. We hope to assemble research relevant to a broad range of mythical, folkloric, and religious/spiritual transformations; subjects may include, for example, shapeshifters and human–animal hybrids (e.g., kitsune, selkies, werewolves, and Fafnir), enchanted objects and their enchanters, witches, and demons with the power to transform themselves or others.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Literature.   

Dr. Margaret Franklin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Arts is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • metamorphosis
  • zoomorphic transformation
  • werewolf
  • sorcerer
  • witch
  • enchanter
  • shapeshifter
  • folklore
  • myth

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2818 KiB  
Article
Transforming Circe: Latin Influences on the Depiction of a Sorceress in Renaissance Cassone Narratives
by Margaret Franklin
Arts 2023, 12(3), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts12030105 - 18 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1365
Abstract
This article addresses the use of Latin accounts of Homer’s archetypal sorceress, Circe, in visual narratives constructed to embellish quattrocento marriage chests (cassoni). I argue that Apollonio di Giovanni employed the writings of both ancient (Virgil) and late medieval (Boccaccio) Latin authors to [...] Read more.
This article addresses the use of Latin accounts of Homer’s archetypal sorceress, Circe, in visual narratives constructed to embellish quattrocento marriage chests (cassoni). I argue that Apollonio di Giovanni employed the writings of both ancient (Virgil) and late medieval (Boccaccio) Latin authors to construct a characterization of Circe that rendered her power to transform men into beasts relevant to the functioning of Early Renaissance homes and societies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metamorphosis in the Arts (c.500-c.1700))
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8 pages, 427 KiB  
Article
Watch Out for the Skin Deep: Medieval Icelandic Transformations
by Ármann Jakobsson
Arts 2023, 12(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts12010005 - 27 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1416
Abstract
Icelandic prose narratives from the 13th and 14th centuries are replete with instances of metamorphosis, humans transforming into animals, or changing shape in an indeterminate way. Sources indicate that the transformation is not merely corporeal but is also spiritual. In this paper, the [...] Read more.
Icelandic prose narratives from the 13th and 14th centuries are replete with instances of metamorphosis, humans transforming into animals, or changing shape in an indeterminate way. Sources indicate that the transformation is not merely corporeal but is also spiritual. In this paper, the Old Norse lexicon of transformation, such as the words hamrammr, hamslauss, and hamstoli, will be closely examined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metamorphosis in the Arts (c.500-c.1700))
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