Metamorphosis

DEFINITION

A transformation, as by magic. To metamorphose is to change in appearance, character, condition, or function. In biology, a change in the form and perhaps the habits of an animal during its normal life cycle, as, in insects, the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly and, in amphibians, the changing of a tadpole into a frog.Examples:Charles Philipon (French, 1800-1862), La M?tamorphose du roi Louis-Philippe en poire (The Metamorphosis of King Louis-Philippe into a Pear), c. 1831, pen and bister-ink drawing, Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris.See these sketches as they were redrawn for publication in Charivari in 1834. The set of four stages of a metamorphosis begins with an accurate portrait of King Louis-Philippe (1830-1848) whose face Philipon gradually transformed into a pear. The pear immediately was taken as a symbol of the soft, overweight king. Louis-Philippe, the so-called "Citizen King" was a favorite target of republican caricaturists, including Honor? Daumier, until censorship was reinstated in September 1835.