Seated Muse or Nymph on Rock (Adaptation of Urania Type)

The Muses were the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory) and were associated with various arts: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (flute-playing), Terpsichore (lyric poetry and dance), Erato (lyric poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Thalia (comedy), Polyhymnia (hymns and pantomime), and Urania (astronomy). In Greek myth and culture, the Muses were honored as beautiful goddesses who brought inspiration to artists. In the Hellenistic period, the Muses were widely depicted, and certain statue types have been thought to depict particular Muses. This seated Muse, holding her chin in a thoughtful gesture, is traditionally thought to be Urania, Muse of astronomy. Statues of the Muses also adorned the great scholarly complex in Alexandria known as the Mouseion, "Place of the Muses," which has given us the modern word "museum."

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Feuardent, Paris, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Joseph Brummer, New York and Paris, 1923, by purchase [Brummer inv. no. P812]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1924, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.