Hall of the Muses

The Muses represented the arts in Greek tradition. In this hall, their gathering has another chapter to its story. Some ancient figures were altered by eighteenth-century restorers so that the display could contain the full group of nine. What looks like an ancient ensemble includes choices made for the museum. The hall opened in 1784 to display sculpture found near Tivoli, at a site then identified as the Villa of Cassius. Apollo with a lyre, portraits and other figures joined the Muses. Tommaso Conca carried their subject onto the painted vault, showing Apollo and the Muses as inspirations for the arts. The Belvedere Torso gives you a different way to look at an ancient body in this room. Its head and limbs are missing, and its subject has received several interpretations. Compare the fragment with the surrounding figures. The restored group gives bodies new identities, while the Torso asks you to work with what remains.