Cleveland Museum of Art

Urania (astronomy) (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #12)

Master of the E-Series TarocchiLinkedCulture matchlcp-0e90d5e870aa

Date

before 1467

Medium

engraving hand-colored with gold

Culture

Italy, Ferrara, 15th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Object ID

106354

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, Urania is personified as a full-length female figure, set in an imaginary hilly landscape. She carries a celestial globe in her left hand, and a compass in her right hand, symbolizing that she is the Muse of Astronomy.

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