Calliope (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #11)

before 1467

Master of the E-Series Tarocchi

(Italian, active 1460s)

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Culture

Italy, Ferrara, 15th century

Medium

engraving hand-colored with gold

Credit Line

Dudley P. Allen Fund 1924.432.11

Catalogue raisonné

Hind E.I.11a

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Location

Not on view

Description

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, Caliope (Calliope) is personified as a full-length female figure, playing a long horn. Next to her is a fountain. This symbolizes the Greek Castalian font at Mount Parnassus, sacred to the Muses and believed by poets to be a source of inspiration. Calliope was regarded as the foremost of the Muses and the one prompting epic poetry.