Interdisciplinary Studies in Media and Culture

An Analysis of the Semiotic System of Color in a Free Adaptation of the Shahnameh: From Traditional Persian Miniature Painting to Modern Animation (Based on Michel Pastoureau's Theory)

Articles in Press

Document Type : .

Authors

somayeh zarei 1
Maryam Jalali 2

1 PhD Student in Art Research, Department of Art Research and History, Faculty of Art, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

10.30465/ismc.2026.54392.3039
Abstract
Color plays a central role in visual representation and in the process of intermedial adaptation. Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh contains symbolic capacities that, in its transition to visual media, particularly traditional Persian painting (miniature) and digital animation, are articulated through color systems. This study investigates how the semiotic system of color is represented in free adaptation of the Shahnameh, from traditional painting to the modern animation The Last Fiction, based on Michel Pastoureau’s theory of color. The research aims to trace the evolution of color semiotics from the literary text of the Shahnameh to Persian painting and subsequently to animation. Assuming the semiotic nature of color, the study argues that in the adaptation process the function of color shifts according to the visual logic of each medium, moving from textual signification toward visual expression. Using a descriptive analytical method, the research draws on the text of the Shahnameh, two selected miniatures from traditional Iranian painting, and key scenes from The Last Fiction. Grounded in cultural semiotics and Pastoureau’s perspective, the findings show that color transforms from a descriptive element in the literary text into a symbolic system in painting and is reinterpreted in animation, highlighting its dynamic role in shaping mythological narratives.

Keywords

Shahnameh
Color
Visual Semiotics
Persian Miniature
Animation
Michel. Pastoureau
Subjects
Interdisciplinary Studies in Media and Culture

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 15 August 2026

  • Receive Date 26 February 2026
  • Revise Date 04 August 2026
  • Accept Date 15 August 2026
  • Publish Date 15 August 2026

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