The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Terpsichore  (dancing and song) (from the Tarocchi series D:  Apollo and the Muses, #13)

Terpsichore (dancing and song) (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #13)

before 1467
(Italian, 15th century)
Catalogue raisonné: Hind E.I.13a
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, Terpsicore (Terpsichore) is personified as a full-length female figure, in frontal view, set in an imaginary landscape by the sea. She is playing an instrument, likely a medieval guitar. Terpsichore was regarded as the Muse of dancing and songs.
  • CMA 1996: Sets and Series: Five Centuries of Master Prints, February 20-May 5, 1996
    Old Master Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 29, 1966-February 28, 1967).
  • {{cite web|title=Terpsichore (dancing and song) (from the Tarocchi series D: Apollo and the Muses, #13)|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/1924.432.13