Feminine and Masculine in Ovid's Poetry and Early Modern Art

One cannot overestimate the importance of the Roman poet Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso, 43 BCE - 17 CE) for early modern artists and writers. Ovid was among the best known of the classical authors, and his poems, particularly the Metamorphoses, were immensely popular. Between 1450 and 1700, translations of Ovid's epic poem were produced in great numbers and many languages, including English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

The Metamorphoses describes the creation and history of the world through an abundance of narratives about the ancient gods, all sharing the theme of transformation. Ovid's dramatic tales were the principal source for most of the visual art produced until the late eighteenth century. They also inspired many of the great literary figures of the early modern era, including Dante, Milton, and Shakespeare.

Feminine and Masculine examines enduring ideas about gender and gender roles as presented in Ovid's stories of the ancient gods and their interactions - admirable and scandalous, amusing and sad - among themselves and with male and female mortals.