The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 24, 2024

Terpsichore Lyran (Muse of Lyric Poetry)

Terpsichore Lyran (Muse of Lyric Poetry)

1816
(Italian, 1757–1822)
Overall: 177.5 x 78.1 x 61 cm (69 7/8 x 30 3/4 x 24 in.)
Location: 200 Rotunda

Did You Know?

Trained by his grandfather, an Italian stonemason, Canova began modeling clay and carving marble sculptures before age ten.

Description

In Greek mythology, Terpsichore was one of the nine Muses, or goddesses of creative inspiration. The lyre, the Greek inscription on the short column, and the caduceus (entwined snakes) on the side identify the figure as Terpsichore Lyran, muse of lyric poetry. This sculpture began with a commission from Napoleon's brother, Lucien, for an idealized portrait of his wife, Alexandrine. Antonio Canova made this version for a British aristocrat and exhibited it in 1817 at the Royal Academy in London to great acclaim.
  • Simon H. Clarke, 9th Bt., 1764-1832 (Oak Hill, East Barnet, England);
    Alfred de Rothschild, 1842-1918 (Halton, Buckinghamshire, England), by inheritance to his nephew, Lionel de Rothschild, 1918;
    Lionel Nathan de Rothschild, 1882-1942 (Exbury, Hampshire, England), 1918-1942, by inheritance to his first son, Edmund Leopold de Rothschild, 1942;
    Edmund Leopold de Rothschild, born 1916 (Exbury, Hampshire, England), sold to Wildenstein & Co., 1963;
    Wildenstein & Co. (New York, New York), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968.
    1968-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Teotochi Albrizzi, Isabella, Leopoldo Cicognara, and Henry Moses. The Works of Antonio Canova: In Sculpture and Modelling. London: S. Prowett, 1824.
    Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1968." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 56, no. 1 (1969): 3-50. www.jstor.org
    Honour, Hugh. "Canova's Statue of a Dancer." The National Gallery of Canada Bulletin Vol. 6, no. 1 (November 1968): 4-31. Reproduced: p. 7, fig. 4
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 164 archive.org
    The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art LVI (September 1969): 287-302. Reproduced: pp. 288-290, 292, 295
    L'opera completa del Canova. Milano, Italy: Rizzoli, 1976. Reproduced: p.119, no. 212
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 203 archive.org
    Licht, Fred, and David Finn. Canova. New York, New York: Abbeville Press, 1983. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 210-213
    Borowitz, Helen O. The Impact of Art on French Literature: From De Scudéry to Proust. Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware Press, 1985. Mentioned: p. 57; Reproduced: p. 58
    Donley, Gregory M, "A Discerning Eye", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 39 no. 05, May 1999 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 6 archive.org
    Weisser, Silja Mareke. Der Tanz als Darstellungsproblem der Skulptur im 19. Jahrhundert: unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Interdependenz zwischen Ballett und Skulptur. Frankfurt am Main: P. Lang, 2000. Mentioned: p. 281; Reproduced: p. 301
    May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. Knockouts: A Pocket Guide. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Reproduced: p. 56; Mentioned: p. 117
    Franklin, David. Director's Choice: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012. Reproduced and mentioned: pp. 50-51
    Treasures of the Cleveland Museum of Art. London, United Kingdom: Scala Books, 2012. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 224-225
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 286
    Dickerson, C. D., Antonio Canova, Emerson Bowyer, Anthony Sigel, and Elyse Nelson. Canova: Sketching in Clay. Washington : National Gallery of Art ; [Chicago, Illinois] : The Art Institute of Chicago, 2023. Mentioned; pp. 46-47; Reproduced; p. 46, Fig. 26; pl. 41
  • Canova: Sketching in Clay. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (organizer) (June 11-October 9, 2023) https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2023/canova-sketching-in-clay.html.
    Royal Academy, London, United Kingdom (1817).
    Year in Review: 1968. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 29-March 9, 1969).
  • {{cite web|title=Terpsichore Lyran (Muse of Lyric Poetry)|url=false|author=Antonio Canova|year=1816|access-date=24 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1968.212