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Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry
Charles Meynier1798
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
The eldest of the nine Greek muses, Calliope was the goddess of music, song, and dance. She was also known as the goddess of epic poetry and conferred the gift of eloquence on kings and princes. She stands here before a bust of Homer, the ancient Greek poet who wrote the <em>Odyssey</em> and the <em>Iliad</em>. This painting belongs to a cycle of five works commissioned by businessman François Boyer-Fonfréde for his home in Toulouse.
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Details
- Title: Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry
- Creator: Charles Meynier (French, 1768–1832)
- Date Created: 1798
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 275 x 177 cm (108 1/4 x 69 11/16 in.)
- Provenance: In 1819, Nicolas-Antoine de Castella, general of the Swiss regiments in France, purchased the paintings and placed them in his Castle of Wallenreid, Switzerland; direct descendants; Pierre de Castella, Mannaz, Switzerland.
- Type: Painting
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2003.6.4
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Fun Fact: Through the assistance of his brother, a famous actor of the Comédie Française, Charles Meynier studied in the studio of François André Vincent, the principal rival of the master Jacques-Louis David
- Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Culture: France, late 18th-early 19th century
- Credit Line: Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Collection: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960
- Accession Number: 2003.6.4
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