The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

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

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

before 1467
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, 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.
  • CMA 1996: Sets and Series: Five Centuries of Master Prints, February 20-May 5, 1996, no cat.
    Old Master Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 29, 1966-February 28, 1967).
  • {{cite web|title=Melpomene (tragedy) (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #17)|url=false|author=Master of the E-Series Tarocchi|year=before 1467|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1924.432.17