Erato (lyric and love poetry) (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #14)

1467

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Mythology Ferrara

Dominant colour

Erato (lyric and love poetry) (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #14) is a 1467 by Master of the E-Series Tarocchi, a Renaissance work, depicting Ferrara, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Master of the E-Series Tarocchi
When & what style?: 1467 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a delicate engraving of a woman in long robes. She holds a lyre and a bunch of flowers. Her hair is braided with ribbons. In the background are simple architectural lines. This image is part of a set called Tarocchi. It shows Apollo and the nine Muses, minor goddesses tied to arts. Erato, the Muse here, rules lyric and love poetry. Look up the engraving at The Cleveland Museum of Art.

The story of this work

Overview

This engraving is part of the Tarocchi group marked with the letter “D,” and named Apollo and the Muses . In Greek mythology, the nine Muses (Calliope, Urania, Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, Thalia, Melpomene, Euterpe, and Clio) were the daughters of Zeus, king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, the Titaness of memory. The Muses were goddesses presiding over different branches of the arts and sciences. Their leader and supervisor was Apollo, the god of light, music, prophecy, and poetry. Here, Erato is personified as a full-length female figure, in profile to the right, and set in an imaginary…

Read the full account in the museum source.