![]() The other women are the Muses, each accompanied by their attribute to aid identification. To the left of Apollo is Mnemosyne, with a dark blue skirt, who is pointing towards a small spring in front of Apollo’s feet. Standing in the centre is Apollo, complete with his lyre and laurel wreaths, used to crown those who became accomplished thanks to the Muses. Wikimedia Commons.Īnton Raphael Mengs’ Parnassus is a highly-finished sketch for the fresco shown below, which he painted in about 1760. It was later removed from the instrument, the upper right added, and was put on display above a door. The explanation for this lies in it having originally been the painted panel cover of a spinet. Lavinia Fontana’s Apollo and the Muses (1598-1600) is unusual for setting the Parnassian motif at night, as an al fresco music concert complete with Pegasus and (at the top left) a flying nude. Lavinia Fontana (1552–1614), Apollo and the Muses (1598-1600), oil on panel, 67 × 94 cm, location not known. The vanishing point in its sky contains another woman’s head, which is probably that of their mother, Mnemosyne, who has the appearance of a mandorla from a religious work. This is unusually inscribed at the lower left corner. ![]() The first of these was probably the Nine Muses for the Palazzo Ducale not in Venice, but in Mantua, and now in the Royal Collection of the UK. In 1578, perhaps extending into the following year, Tintoretto painted six mythological works, in a break from his long series of religious scenes and portraits. Jacopo Tintoretto (c 1518-1594), Nine Muses (E&I 199) (c 1578), oil on canvas, 206.7 x 309.8, The Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England. Raphael (1483–1520), Parnassus (detail) (c 1509-11), fresco, 670 x 770 cm, Stanza della Segnatura, Palazzo Vaticano, The Vatican City. Surrounding him are the full set of nine Muses, who are mostly not identifiable as individuals. At its centre is the god Apollo, who is bowing a string instrument and looking upward for inspiration. Parnassus is probably the last completed of Raphael’s three great frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura of the Vatican Palace, by 1511 according to an inscription below the window. Raphael (1483–1520), Parnassus (c 1509-11), fresco, 670 x 770 cm, Stanza della Segnatura, Palazzo Vaticano, The Vatican City. At the far left is Apollo making music for the Muses on his lyre. At the right is Mercury, messenger of the gods, with his caduceus and Pegasus the winged horse. To the left of Mars’ feet is Venus’ child Cupid who is aiming his blowpipe at Vulcan’s genitals, as he works at his forge in the cave at the left. The lovers are shown standing together on a flat-topped rock arch, as the Muses dance below. This refers to the classical myth of the affair between Mars and Venus, the latter being married to Vulcan, who caught them in bed together and cast a fine net around them for the other gods to come and mock their adultery. Wikimedia Commons.Īndrea Mantegna’s painting of Mars and Venus, known better as Parnassus (1496-97) was commissioned by Isabella d’Este. Andrea Mantegna (1431–1506), Parnassus (Mars and Venus) (1496-97), oil on canvas, 159 x 192 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris. Some of the oldest ‘modern’ paintings of the Muses show them together with the god Apollo on Mount Parnassus. Finally, Urania (Ourania) if the Muse of astronomy, and is associated with a globe or compass. Thalia (Thaleia) is the Muse of comedy, and has a comic mask or a shepherd’s crook. Terpsichore is the Muse of dance, and usually appears with a lyre. Polyhymnia (Polymnia) is the Muse of hymns, and is associated with grapes and agriculture. Melpomene is the muse of tragedy, and usually has the mask characteristic of the genre. Euterpe is the Muse of music and lyric poetry, so plays a flute-like aulos. Erato is the Muse of love poetry, and holds or plays a cithara, a type of lyre. ![]() Clio (Kleio) is the Muse of history, and shown with scrolls or books. Occasionally they are reduced in number, most usually to three, and have a long history of appearing in visual art.Ĭalliope (Kalliope) is the Muse of epic poetry, and is shown with a stylus and tablet or a lyre. Generally accepted as being nine in number, they are most usually named Kleio, Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania, and Kalliope. Their origin is doubted by sources other than Hesiod, though: some claim their parents were Ouranos and Gaia, for instance. The Muses (Greek Μοῦσαι Mousai) are the daughters of Mnemosyne, fathered by Zeus over a succession of nine nights which he spent with their mother.
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