Andrea Appiani was an Italian neoclassical painter. Neoclassicism was a movement that looked back into the values of Ancient Greece in the fields of art, literature, and architecture. It emphasised order, balance, which means classical orders in architecture and subjects inspired by classical mythology, history, and moral virtue in art. In this painting by Appiani, made in 1881, we see the iconography concept of the depiction of Mount Parnassus and the nine muses, a concept in art history that has occurred various times. The name is derived from Mount Parnassus in Greece, where it’s believed that Apollo and the nine muses were housed. Apollo was the god of music, poetry, art, and light. The Muses were goddesses who inspired people in different arts like music, dance, poetry, and history. In iconography, a "Parnassus" scene isn’t just a landscape; it is a visual expression of the “Liberal Arts” and of the divine inspiration that guides both poets and artists. Apollo is usually placed centrally in the paintings with an instrument in his hands with a laurel branch on his head, symbolising poetic achievement. If we look closer, we can notice the small puddle of water near Apollo’s feet. This small stream flowing is called the Castilian Spring, and it represents the literal physical intake of the divine inspiration. Appiani’s painting turns the home of the Muses into a scene of perfect calm, showing that true creative genius comes from balance and order.
The motif of the richly decorated zither played by the deity reveals an awareness of Marcantonio Raimondi's print from the first design of Raphael's "The Parnassus," which, in the final fresco, is replaced with a violin, a more modern instrument—a decision that Lamberti was not happy with. The innovations then are found in the depiction of the muses, which draws from complex erudite references to ancient statuary and classical texts, but, at the same time, reflect a precise study of emotions, in keeping with the Lombard tradition of Renaissance paintings.
