''Parnassus'' or ''Apollo and the Muses'' is an

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythologic ...

, from ''c.'' 1631-1633. It was inspired by the famous

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

's ''

Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...

'' in the

Stanza della Segnatura The four Raphael Rooms () form a suite of reception rooms in the Apostolic Palace, now part of the Vatican Museums, in Vatican City. They are famous for their frescoes, painted by Raphael and his workshop. Together with Michelangelo's Sistine Chap ...

, and it is now held in the

Prado Museum The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on ...

, in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. Among the figures depicted are

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

and, most likely,

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

Description

German art historian

Erwin Panofsky Erwin Panofsky (March 30, 1892 – March 14, 1968) was a German-Jewish art historian whose work represents a high point in the modern academic study of iconography, including his hugely influential ''Renaissance and Renascences in Western Art ...

believed this work to be also a homage to Poussin's Roman benefactor, the poet

Giambattista Marino Giambattista Marino (also Giovan Battista Marini) (14 October 1569 – 26 March 1625) was a Neapolitan poet who was born in Naples. He is most famous for his epic '. The ''Cambridge History of Italian Literature'' thought him to be "one of ...

. In this a mythological scene, set in the

Mount Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...

, the god

appears surrounded by the nine

muses In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

, each one of them carrying objects that made them recognizable, and several poets. The central figure seems to be

, whom the muse

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses". Mythology Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...

crowns with laurel. Apollo and the Muses are gathered on Mount Parnassus, northeast of Delphi. In the foreground, the Castalian spring, which inspires those who drink from it, is depicted as a reclining nymph. In her right hand she holds a vase, her attribute. Apollo sits on the highest platform, and Homer, or the poet Marino, kneels before him, and is given a laurel wreath, a symbol of wisdom. He holds two books.

Reproduction

Jean Dughet, Poussin's brother-in-law, reproduced the painting in an etching; it is not dated but must be previous to 1667.

Provenance

The painting is believed to have been in the Meyers collection. It was first mentioned in Spain in a 1746 inventory of the La Granja de San Ildefonso palace.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parnassus 1630s paintings Paintings in the Museo del Prado by French artists Mythological paintings by Nicolas Poussin Paintings of Apollo Cultural depictions of Homer

Description

Reproduction

Provenance

See also

References