Celebrated by artists for centuries, the decoration of this sarcophagus illustra

tes the ideal of the cultivated man as manifested in Roman funerary art of the s
econd to fourth centuries CE. Each of the nine Muses is endowed with a distincti
ve attribute. According to a belief attested in Greece as early as the fourth ce
ntury BCE, the practice of literature and the arts under the inspiration of the
Muses eased the passage of the dead into the hereafter and ensured the salvation
of their souls.
A source of inspiration for modern artists
The Sarcophagus of the Muses has long been held in great esteem by artists. Aqui
la's engravings, reproduced in Lord Coleraine's album, did much to ensure its fa
me in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It has also served as a source of
inspiration to later painters and poets in 1911, Pierre Vuillard included it in
his painting La Bibliothque (Muse d'Orsay, Paris), and it inspired the first of P
aul Claudel's Cinq Grandes Odes.
The significance of the Muses in funerary art
By the early second century CE, burial had taken the place of cremation, and the
Romans began to make use of sarcophagi decorated in relief, firstly with garlan
ds - a motif borrowed from first-century funerary altars - and later with narrat
ive scenes. Some of these evoked the life of the deceased this is no doubt the c
ase with the banquet depicted on the lid against a draped background. Generally,
however, artisans turned to Greek mythology, drawing an implicit connection bet
ween the subject chosen and the beliefs of the deceased. The decoration of this
sarcophagus illustrates one of the ideals found exemplified in Roman funerary ar
t of the second to fourth centuries CE that of the cultivated man, the mousikos
aner in Greek, represented in portraits of Socrates and of the poet Hesiod (or p
erhaps Homer). According to a belief attested in Greece as early as the fourth c
entury BCE, the practice of literature and philosophy, or daily intercourse with
the Muses, ensured immortality and the soul's salvation. The nine Muses, daught
ers of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory), are depicted on the front, each with her dis
tinctive attribute. From left to right they are Calliope, the muse of epic poetr
y, who holds a scroll; Thalia, muse of comedy, holding a comic mask; Terpsichore
, muse of dance; Euterpe, muse of lyric poetry, holds a double flute; Polymnia,
muse of hymnody, leans on a rock; Clio, muse of history, has a writing-tablet; E
rato, muse of love poetry, holds a cithara; Urania, muse of astronomy is shown w
ith a globe at her feet; and finally Melpomene, muse of tragedy, wears a tragic
mask.
The Influence of Greek Art
Created around the mid-second century CE, this sarcophagus was probably made for
a cultivated Roman anxious to demonstrate his attachment to Greek culture, with
models drawn from Greek art. The composition of the frieze, the neutral backgro
und and the retrained attitude of the Muses all evoke the classical art of the f
ifth and fourth centuries BCE. This impression is sustained by the very discreet
employment of the drill and the rounded forms of the carefully polished surface
s. The elongated figures of the young women and their almost statuesque appearan
ce, suggested by the depth of the relief, also recall Hellenistic art.
Bibliography
Fr. Baratte, C. Metzger, Muse du Louvre. Catalogue de sarcophages en pierre d'poqu
es romaine et palochrtienne, Paris, Editions de la Runion des muses nationaux, 1985,
pp. 171-5, n 84
J. Marcad, Deux reliefs romains de l'poque impriale. Problmes d'iconographie, Revue
du Louvre, 56, 1985, pp. 345-7
M. Wegner, Die Musensarkophage, Berlin, Mann, 1966, n 75, p. 36-7 et passim, pl.
3, 5-6, 13a, 135, 143a and b
Sarcophage des Muses
Premire moiti du IIe sicle aprs J.-C.
Via Ostiense
Marbre

H. : 0,92 m. ; l. : 2,06 m. ; L. : 0,68 m.

Ancienne collection du cardinal Albani ; puis muse du CapitoleSaisie napolonienne
; chang en 1815
, 1815
Inventaire MR 880 (n usuel Ma 475)