"We are the muses, goddesses of the arts and proclaimers of heroes," declare Calliope, Clio, Melpomene, Terpsichore and Thalia as they step out from the ancient vase on which they have been painted. Awakened as goddesses of poetic inspiration, the film Hercules portrays them as skilled storytellers, and it's not wrong. At their ancient origin, the muses were far from passive subjects for an artist to paint or write about. Instead, they were agents of divine inspiration. The artist-muse relationship was one that was revered, and poets, at their mercy, paid homage to these divinities. In this book we will meet many familiar faces-individuals who have been immortalized in artworks-as well as some lesser-known figures. As it reveals these subjects' connection and influence over the artists who pictured them, and the enormous contributions that they made, the muse will be reframed as a momentous, empowered and active agent of art history. Let's meet the muses.... Book jacket.
