Euterpe (music, lyric poetry) (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #18)

1467

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Mythology Ferrara

Dominant colour

Euterpe (music, lyric poetry) (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #18) 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

This print shows Euterpe holding a lute and a book. She's one of nine Muses from a set made in Ferrara around the 1460s. The artist lined them up neatly with Apollo at the center. These cards weren't just for games. Artists used them to teach mythology. Look closely at how light plays on her sleeve. Next time you're in Cleveland, find this card in the museum's medieval gallery.

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, Euterpe is personified as a full-length female figure, turned to left, and leaning against a tree set in…

Read the full account in the museum source.