Clio, Muse of History

1800

Charles Meynier

(French, 1768–1832)

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Culture

France, late 18th-early 19th century

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

Framed: 290 x 192.4 x 7 cm (114 3/16 x 75 3/4 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 273 x 176 cm (107 1/2 x 69 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2003.6.5

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Location

001A ArtLens Exhibition

Did You Know?

Clio's name is derived from a Greek word meaning "to recount" or "to celebrate."

Description

Look closely at these two muses, Greek goddesses of the arts. Notice the blues and golds of their clothing and Clio’s luminous feathered wings. Although they now hang in a museum gallery, these large paintings once decorated a castle in Switzerland. Museums control temperature and humidity to protect art, but a castle’s environment is harder to manage.

When the CMA purchased these paintings in 2003, they showed signs of neglect. Their surfaces were cracked. The varnish, or clear protective coating, had become dark and yellow with age. Painting conservators carefully removed the old varnish to reveal the original brilliant colors, and inpainted areas of paint loss by filling them in with matching paint.

Which muse would you want to talk to? What would you ask her?