Erato Muse of Lyrical Poetry
Erato Muse of Lyrical Poetry c1800 by French Painter Charles Meynier (1763-68 – 1832); of historical and mythological subjects in the late 18th and early19th century.
This is a beautiful portrait of a young lady that is sitting by the water on a grass covered ledge, that is illuminated by a heavenly light.
She is dressed in Greek attire with a rose-pink gown and a sheer white over cloth that is partly blowing in the wind by ethereal forces.
While sitting on the she is writing a poem on two clay tablets using an arrow as a winged Erato, one of the nine muses of Greek Mythology, known as the patron of lyric and erotic poetry or hymns, whispers words into her right ear.
Erato is holding two additional arrows in his left hand that is tucked underneath her right arm and slightly resting on her left forearm; he is also carry a quiver over his right shoulder that has an additional two arrows.
He is also holding by the edge the white sheer cloth that is blowing in the wind by the edge , which forms a small canopy be hind the young lady.
(Note: In this painting, Meynier has interpreted Erato to be a male, though Erato is generally depicted as a female.)
Beside Erato, behind him and to the left of the painting is his lyre (an early harp like instrument), that is partially covered with gold and gold strings, and a large basket filled with a beautiful assort of colorful wildflowers.
This is a retouched digital art old masters reproduction of a public domain image that is available as a canvas print online.
Info Below Derived From Wikipedia.org
Meynier was the son of a tailor; and a young age showed a talent for art, and began his training under the mentorship of by French Draughtsman and EngraverPierre-Philippe Choffard *1731 – 1809).
As a student of French Neoclassical and Historical Painter François-André Vincent (1746 – 1816), Meynier won the second prize in the 1789 prix de Rome competition; while Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson took first prize. Four years later in 1793 Meynier returned to Paris.
In 1815 Meynier became a member of the Académie de France à Rome; and during the period between 1819 to 1822, he created the grand decoration for the ceiling’s of the Louvre; as well as creating numerous works that glorified the Napoleonic legend, which for the most part remains in the Château de Versailles.
He also made designs for the bas-reliefs and statues on the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Paris Bourse. From 1816 onward, Meynier was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts; and in 1819 he was appointed teacher at the École des Beaux-Arts.
