Polyhymnia (heroic hymns) (from the Tarocchi series D:  Apollo and the Muses, #15)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Polyhymnia (heroic hymns) (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #15)

Master of the E-Series Tarocchi

Date
before 1467
Medium
engraving hand-colored with gold
Culture
Italy, Ferrara, 15th century
Department
Prints
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art

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, Polimnia (Polyhymnia) is personified as a full-length female figure, turned to the right, and set in an imaginary hilly landscape. She is playing a portative organ. Polyhymnia was regarded as the Muse of heroic hymns.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Related across collections

Semantically similar works from Cleveland Museum of Art and other institutions.