Simbologia del Parnaso - Raffaello - I SIMBOLI NELL'ARTE

Raphael painted the Parnassus in the Stanza della Segnatura in 1510 The work is located on the north wall the one dedicated to poetry The story takes place on Mount Parnassus also known as the Icon of the Muses The summit of Parnassus is a grove of laurel La laurel refers to the mythological story of Daphne a nymph who hated marriage And she withdrew from the passionate love of Apollo seeking help from her parents' gods So that they could save her from the unappreciated amorous advances of the young god they transformed her into a laurel tree The shrub that became sacred to Apollo which he wove around his temples On the hill flows the Hippocrene spring sacred to the Muses and caused to gush forth by a kick of Pegasus' hoof From this source flow the rivers Olmeios and Permessos Capable of providing inspiration to those who have quenched their thirst there Above the spring sits Apollo crowned with laurel While a viola d'amore plays an instrument also used in the time of Raphael There is no consensus among scholars regarding the attribution of the identities of many of the characters depicted At Apollo's side sit Euterpe muse of lyric poetry He is holding a wind instrument perhaps a tibia or some kind of flute O Tersicore muse of dance who holds a lyre in her lap Behind Euterpe we see Melpomene the muse of tragedy with the symbol of the dramatic mask Behind Tersicore we see Calliope muse of epic poetry with the symbol of the tablet Talia muse of comedy with the symbol of the comic mask Urania the muse of astronomy points her finger toward the sky And with her back turned holding a lyre her symbol we see Erato the muse of love poetry Around the Muses eighteen poets also crowned with laurel form a crown a symbol of the learned and the glory of knowledge This is Alceo Corinna Francesco Petrarca Anna Creonte and Saffo with a label bearing their own names Ennio follows higher up listening to the song of the blind Mero Behind them appears Dante who looks toward Virgil and Stazio On the other side of the fountain we see Orazio sitting and talking with other poets standing nearby Perhaps Ovid and Jacopo Sannazzaro Behind them appears Properzio The poets discussing under the laurel trees have a more doubtful identity This would be Poliziano Boccaccio Tibullus and Ariosto It is likely that many of these great poets of the past were depicted with the features of famous contemporary literati of Raphael In this happy artistic symposium we have the allegory of humanistic culture It is celebrated at the pal court and Raphael immortal among the greats of the past sometimes with the features of his learned contemporaries to highlight the value of art and culture Human vehicle towards the beautiful and the sublime