Apollo and the Muses Awakened by the Call of Fame

Description

Here a barely visible Apollo, sleeping in the upper left background, and the nine muses are roused by the allegorical figure of Fame, who flies overhead with a trumpet. This dynamic scene signifies a reawakening of the arts. The loosely arranged clusters of figures and natural forms also suggest a harmonious relationship between humanity and the environment. This drawing, with its heavily subdued details and attention to the overall impact of contrast and design, is characteristic of Venetian draftsmanship in the late 1500s, and was valued by the small circle of Venetian intellectuals for whom Palma produced many similar mythological works.

Provenance

Jonathan Richardson, London (Lugt 2183, lower center, in black ink). William Mayor, London (Lugt 2799, lower right, in black ink). John Postle Heseltine, London (Lugt 1507, verso of secondary support, lower right, in black ink); [P. & D. Colnaghi & Obach] (according to departmental cataloguing sheet). [M. Knoedler & Co.] (verso of secondary support, stamped in red ink: M. K. & CO. / W. C. No. 1246 [traced in black ink])

Apollo and the Muses Awakened by the Call of Fame

Jacopo Palma il Giovane

1590s

Accession Number

1926.265

Medium

pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash over graphite

Dimensions

Sheet: 20.4 x 26.1 cm (8 1/16 x 10 1/4 in.); Secondary Support: 26.3 x 31.9 cm (10 3/8 x 12 9/16 in.)

Classification

Drawing

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Dudley P. Allen Fund