Charles Meynier | Clio, Muse of History | Cleveland Museum of Art
In 1797 François-Bernard Boyer-Fonfrède, an industrial textile manufacturer, commissioned Charles Meynier (Paris, 1768-1832) to paint nine canvases featuring Apollo and the Muses for a large room in his home in Toulouse.
Meynier exhibited the painting based on this drawing at the Salon of 1800 but ultimately only completed five canvases, as his patron ran out of money.
The paintings were installed in the hall of Wallenried Castle, Switzerland by General Castella de Berlens around 1824, where they remained until 1983.
The group was acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2003. | © The Metropolitan Museum of Art