Publisher's Synopsis
The book consists of two volumes that examine deployments of mixed emotion in the literary and pictorial arts of early modern Europe. Volume 1 has two parts, the first focusing on portrayals of mixed emotion in theatre, poetry, and prose, the second on forms and functions of mixed emotion in spiritual exercises centering on pictorial images, and on heuristic and/or restorative functions of portraying mixed emotion. Volume 2 takes the form of a monograph on the myth of Hercules and Omphale/Iole, which, following in the wake of Lukas Cranach's brilliant pictorial inventions of the 1530s, became a popular epitome for the skilful display of mixed emotions, not just in Germany but also Italy and elsewhere.
