Artwork Page for Polyhymnia, Muse of Eloquence

Details / Information for Polyhymnia, Muse of Eloquence

Polyhymnia, Muse of Eloquence

1800

Charles Meynier

(French, 1768–1832)
View all records in artwork set
Culture
France, late 18th-early 19th century
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
Overall: 275 x 177 cm (108 1/4 x 69 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2003.6.1
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
201 French Neoclassical Painting & Sculpture
Print
?

Did You Know?

Meynier was trained in a studio known by the students of Jacques-Louis David as the atelier of the "perruques" (wigs), a name given to royalists or conservatives of the period.

Description

Polymnia is one of the nine muses in Greek mythology and a patron of dancing or geometry. She is portrayed here standing in front of a bust of the Athenian orator Demosthenes. This painting belongs to a cycle of five works commissioned by businessman François Boyer-Fonfréde for his home in Toulouse.
A vertically oriented oil painting depicts Polyhymnia, a muse with light skin tone holding both arms to our right while looking out at us. She wears draped purple and yellow-gold garments and a gold crown from which billows a white veil. A lion-headed chair sits behind her, a staff leaning against it, and a pedestal rising above upon which the bust of a bearded man sits against a dark sky with orange streaks.

Polyhymnia, Muse of Eloquence

1800

Charles Meynier

(French, 1768–1832)
France, late 18th-early 19th century

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

Contact Us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please fill out the appropriate request form linked below:

Update or Correct Artwork Information

Imagery or Rights for Non-Open-Access Artworks

Report a Website Issue

Further Questions About This Artwork