Possibly by Girolamo Romanino, 'Pegasus and the Muses', about 1540
About the work
Overview
The painting shows the moment described in Ovid’s Metamorphoses when the mythical winged horse Pegasus stamped his hoof on Mount Helicon, causing a spring to gush forth. The spring became known as the Hippocrene, or Spring of the Horse. Here the artist shows several thin streams flowing down to feed a larger body of water in the plain. Surrounding Pegasus are the Muses, singing and making music, while the daughters of Pierus, who sang in contest with them, stand in a circle in the background. The painting was probably the lid of a keyboard instrument.
The nine Muses all wear Lombard costume of around 1540, which is similar to that in Romanino’s murals in Palazzo Salvadego, Brescia, of about 1543. The facial types are also typical of Romanino as are the short, curled shading lines beneath the arm of the man to the left. However, it is not certain that the painting is by Romanino.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Pegasus and the Muses
- Artist
- Possibly by Girolamo Romanino
- Artist dates
- about 1484 - about 1560
- Date made
- about 1540
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 38 × 115.4 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Layard Bequest, 1916
- Inventory number
- NG3093
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Nicholas Penny, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings’, vol. 1, ‘Paintings from Bergamo, Brescia and Cremona’, London 2004; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
1962Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools (excluding the Venetian), London 1962
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1987Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1987
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
-
2004
Penny, Nicholas, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings, 1, Paintings from Bergamo, Brescia and Cremona, London 2004
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.