id: 163042 accession number: 2003.6.3 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2003.6.3 updated: 2023-08-24 00:01:52.038000 Apollo, God of Light, Eloquence, Poetry and the Fine Arts with Urania, Muse of Astronomy, 1798. Charles Meynier (French, 1768–1832). Oil on canvas; overall: 275 x 235 cm (108 1/4 x 92 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2003.6.3 title: Apollo, God of Light, Eloquence, Poetry and the Fine Arts with Urania, Muse of Astronomy title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1798 creation date earliest: 1798 creation date latest: 1798 current location: 201 French Neoclassical Painting & Sculpture creditline: Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund copyright: --- culture: France, late 18th century technique: oil on canvas department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture collection: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960 type: Painting find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Charles Meynier (French, 1768–1832) - artist Charles Meynier was a recipient of the Grand Prix de Rome in 1789 and became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1815. A history painter, he created the grand decoration for ceilings of the Louvre (1819 and 1822), and produced numerous pictures glorifying the Napoleonic legend, which for the most part remain in the château de Versailles. Through the assistance of his brother Meynier Saint-Phal, a famous actor of the Comédie Française who paid for his studies, the artist entered the atelier of the painter François André Vincent (1746-1816), a principal rival of the master Jacques-Louis David. The studio in which Meynier received his training was known by the students of David as the atelier of the"perruques," (the wigs) the name given to royalists or conservatives during that period. --- measurements: Overall: 275 x 235 cm (108 1/4 x 92 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE In 1819, Nicolas-Antoine de Castella, general of the Swiss regiments in France, purchased the paintings and placed them in his Castle of Wallenreid, Switzerland. date: footnotes: citations: direct descendants date: footnotes: citations: Pierre de Castella, Mannaz, Switzerland date: footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 2003- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Urania leans on a starry orb, indicating her role as the muse of astronomy. digital description: wall description: A recipient of the Grand Prix de Rome in 1789, Charles Meynier became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1815 and painted large ceiling decorations at the Louvre and numerous pictures glorifying the Napoleonic legend. Erato, Muse of Lyrical Poetry belongs to a cycle of five paintings executed to fulfill a commission from businessman François Boyer-Fonfréde. They were intended to decorate his home in his native Toulouse and constitute a rare instance of a complete cycle of major paintings that remain intact rather than being split up and separately dispersed. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Bellenger, Sylvain, Paul J. and Edith Ingalls Vignos Jr. "Magnificent Muses", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 44 no. 01, January 2004 page number: Mentioned & reproduced: p. 4 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAMM2004-01/page/n3/ --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2003.6.3/2003.6.3_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2003.6.3/2003.6.3_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2003.6.3/2003.6.3_full.tif