Artwork Page for Melpomene (tragedy) (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #17)

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Melpomene (tragedy) (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #17)

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 1924.432.17
Catalogue raisonné
Hind E.I.17a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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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, Melpomene is personified as a full-length female figure, turned to left, and set in an imaginary hilly landscape. She is blowing a horn. Melpomene was regarded as the Muse of tragedy.
A vertically oriented engraving depicts Melpomene, a muse with light skin tone and long hair, blowing into a gold horn. Facing our left, she wears a sleeveless, draped gown with a gold belt, a gold sphere sitting on the ground by her feet. A landscape of rolling hills and buildings fills the background. Text at the bottom reads "D MELPOMENE XVII 17," the scene enclosed by a decorative, patterned border.

Melpomene (tragedy) (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #17)

before 1467

Master of the E-Series Tarocchi

(Italian, active 1460s)
Italy, Ferrara, 15th century

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