This narrative, persistent throughout history, has consequently led to forget that these women were, in many cases, artists in their own right, disregarding female artist’s accomplishments. She is the anima to his animus, the yin to his yang, except that, in a reversal of gender roles, she penetrates or inspires him and he gestates and brings forth, from the womb of the mind.” Feminist author Germaine Greer “The muse in her purest aspect is the feminine part of the male artist, with which he must have intercourse if he is to bring into being a new work.
Untold narratives: a new definition of museĪn extremely romanticized figure in art history, the term ‘muse’ has come to be often gendered as feminine: on the one hand, the male creative genius the female model and source of creative revelation, on the other. From Renaissance figures such as Andrea del Sarto’s wife, Lucrezia, to the iconic muses of Surrealism – Dalì’s wife Gala and Man Ray’s muses Kiki de Montparnasse and Lee Miller – art history is a constellation of remarkable characters whose essence artists have tried to capture in their art. In modern English, in fact, while the term ‘muse’ is used implicitly in words such as ‘amuse’ and ‘museum’ (from the name of the place where the Muses were worshipped), it explicitly defines a person – most often a woman – who is a source of artistic inspiration.įor centuries, the greatest pieces of art have been inspired by spouses, lovers and friends, who did not merely pose but inspire, galvanize, and arouse to the point of developing tormented relationships. The cult of the Muses was also commonly connected to that of Apollo, and poets would ask Muses for help in composing the poem, seeking inspiration, skill, and knowledge, anticipating the long-lasting trope of the artist-muse relationship. noun Greek Mythology Any of the nine daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus, each of whom presided over a different art or science. In ancient Greek mythology, the Muses were nine sister goddesses who presided over literature, arts, and sciences. from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition. “Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story…” ancient poets used to write, but what is a muse and who were they invoking?
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