Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
Apollo, God of Light, Eloquence, Poetry, and the Fine Arts with Urania, Muse of Astronomy
Also known as: Apollo, God of Light, Eloquence, and Fine Arts with Urania, Muse of Astronomy
About the Artwork
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.
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. direct descendants Pierre de Castella, Mannaz, Switzerland 2003-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Charles Meynier (French, 1768–1832)
- Date
- 1798
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Overall: 275 x 235 cm (108 1/4 x 92 1/2 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Accession no.
- 2003.6.3
More by Charles Meynier in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009187
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