Description:

Bozzetto
South German
18th century
"Apollo with the Muses on Parnassus"
Oil on Canvas
47,5 x 37,5 cm

This bozzetto in oil on canvas probably served as a design for a larger fresco and shows a representation of the god Apollo with the nine Muses. Apollo carries among other things the epithet Musagetes, where this means "leader of the Muses". He is one of the Olympian gods and is known, among other things, as the god of the arts. He is also known as Apollo Kitharoidos, because he is often depicted with a kithara, an ancient stringed instrument.
The scene is located in pyramidal design on a hill; it is probably Mount Parnassus, which in ancient times was dedicated to Apollo and is considered the home of the Muses. A single tree crown, surrounded by shrubbery, rises into the idyllic cloudy sky. On the left is a rock wall with a waterfall emerging from a cave; here the winged horse named Pegasus is just setting out for flight. This reinforces the assumption that this is Parnassus, since this mountain was also the home of Pegasus.
In the foreground the muses have draped themselves around Apollo. Apollo is shown with a heroic, naked upper body and a long, bright red robe that is wrapped around his hips; in his left hand he holds the instrument that he plays with his right hand. He wears a laurel wreath and leans towards the muse on his left. The women listen intently to his playing and are presented in various poses: sitting, leaning on a rock, and half lying down, suggesting a relaxed atmosphere.
The muses are the patron goddesses of the arts: Clio as the muse of historiography, Euterpe as the muse of poetry, Melpomene as the muse of tragedy, Erato as the muse of love poetry, Terpsichore as the muse of dance, Urania as the muse of astronomy, Thalia as the muse of comedy, Polyhymnia as the muse of song, and Calliope as the muse of epic poetry and science. They are shown with attributes: Urania is seated in the foreground on the right with pointer and leaning on the celestial sphere; Calliope is shown on the left with her writing tablet raised; the serious theatrical mask draped in the center refers to Melpomene, who is presumably seated on the left and facing down; Euterpe may be shown with the double flute or aulos next to Apollo. Other attributes are not clearly discernible; the figures in the background could also be poets or philosophers, as seen in the fresco Parnassus from the Stanzas of Raphael (1483-1520) in the Apostolic Palace. In contrast to the abundance of figures, the well-known later execution by Claude Lorrain (1604-1682) shows the figures in a monumental idyll.
The color palette, the long-limbed, softly modeled figures, and the voluminous robes suggest a late 17th or early 18th century production. It is possible that the painting was created in the Austrian region. As a popular theme, Apollo and the nine muses are also depicted in a semicircular fresco in the State Hall of the Austrian National Library. This fresco was painted by the famous Austrian Baroque painter Daniel Gran (1694-1757), from whose circle this work may have originated.

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