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View of The Muses of Inspiration Hail the Spirit, The Messenger of Light, left side

File name: Chavannes_006

Title: View of The Muses of Inspiration Hail the Spirit, The Messenger of Light, left side

Creator/Contributor: Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre, 1824-1898 (artist); Boston Public Library (sponsor); Lanzel, Sheryl (photographer)

Genre: Paintings; Murals

Date created: 1893-1896 (approximate)

Physical description: 1 painting : mural, oil on canvas ; visible image 16 x 50 feet

Physical description notes: Canvases completed in Puvis' studio in Paris and shipped over to Boston for installation in 1895-96. Canvas applied to the walls of the grand staircase gallery using an adhesive technique called marouflage. The artist used encaustic wax in the painting process to make the surface appear matte and more fresco-like.

Summary/Abstract: View of The Muses of Inspiration Hail the Spirit, The Messenger of Light, the 16'x50' panel running along the Bates Hall entrance wall. This view depicts a group of the left-side muses against a backdrop of sea and sky, and a tablet inscribed with the French title of this section. The figures and perspective were rendered in a particularly ""flat"" manner so as to remain faithful to classical fresco painting, in which the rendering was meant to retain its identity as the surface of a wall.

General notes: Title created by cataloger, adapted from Description of the Decorative Paintings by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes.

Date notes: On May 25, 1893, the Trustees of the BPL contracted Pierre Puvis de Chavannes for mural work completed between 1893 and 1896. As the aging artist was reluctant to travel to Boston, he painted the panels on canvas in his Neuilly studio in France. The panels were then shipped over to the library; installation was completed in 1896.

Subjects: Goddesses

Collection: Mural Cycles at the Central Library, Copley Square

Location: Chavannes Gallery Murals: The Muses of Inspiration Hail the Spirit, the Messenger of Light

Rights: Copyright (c) Sheryl Lanzel

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Uploaded on November 6, 2014