Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART
Preferred Title:
Apollo and the Muses [ceiling fresco]
Image View:
Detail, panel with soldiers and philosophers
Creator:
Tommaso Conca (Italian painter, 1734-1822)
Location:
repository: Musei Vaticani (Rome (Vatican City), Santa Sede (Holy See), Italy)
Location Note:
Pio Clementino Museum, Sala delle Muse
GPS:
41.906389 12.454444
Date:
1782-1787 (creation)
Cultural Context:
Italian
Style Period:
Baroque; Eighteenth century
Work Type 1:
fresco (painting)
Work Type 2:
dome (architectural element)
Classification:
painting
Material:
pigment on plaster; gilding
Technique:
fresco painting (technique); gilding (technique); grisaille
Description:
The Hall of the Muses in the Pio-Clementino Museum, opened to the public in 1784, was intended for the display of a series of sculptures which had been found in the so-called Villa of Cassius near Tivoli, and which included many statues of the Muses, an Apollo holding the lyre, an Athena, herms and portraits of famous Greek men, all dating from the time of the Emperor Hadrian. These were modified by 18th century restorers; some of them did not originally depict muses and were modified in order to complete the full number of nine personifications of the arts. The frescoes by Tommaso Conca on the vaulted ceiling represent Apollo and the Muses as the inspirers of the arts. In the 1800s the Pompeian red paint was used to cover landscapes which had previously provided backgrounds for the various statues. (Source: Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani) [website]; http://mv.vatican.va /)
Collection:
Adjunct Module A: Italian Art
Identifier:
7A1-CONCA-VM-AM-F01
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Apollo and the Muses [ceiling fresco]