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Robert Boissard

Parnassus, plate 4 from Parnassus Biceps

1601
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
24.6 × 18 cm (9.7 × 7.1 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This plate comes from the same poetry anthology as the two prints in this exhibition showing the Muses Melpomene and Thalia (1920.2037 and .2043). This scene depicts Mount Parnassus, sacred home of the nine Muses, who are clustered on the top row, with Apollo, the god of music, at the center. In the foreground is Zeus, with his symbolic attribute the eagle at his feet, seated alongside a horned Dionysos, who holds up a cluster of grapes. Apollo, also the god of reason, was often perceived in a dichotomy with the irrational Dionysos.

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