Melpomena

In Greek mythology, Melpomene is one of nine muses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the patron of tragedy. The marble bust of Melpomene exhibited at the Łańcut Castle is a copy of the bust from the famous, antique, full-figure marble statue of Melpomene found in the collection of the Musei Vaticani in Rome. The statue is the 2nd-century Roman copy of a Greek bronze statue from the 2nd half of the 4th century B.C. It was found in Villa di Casino near Tivoli in 1774. It depicts Melpomene as a young standing woman, with classical facial features, dressed in a chiton, holding a tragic mask in one hand and a sword in the other. Melpomene's head is tied with a vine branch with bunches of grapes. The Łańcut bust comes from the collection of Princess Izabela Lubomirska (1736-1816), the owner of the Łańcut Castle. It is mentioned in the 1802 inventory of the Łańcut Castle (p. 34) as 'Bustum of a woman', and in the 1805 inventory (p. 25) as 'Underbust of a beautiful woman with grapes on her head'. Then, it was exhibited in the Turkish Apartment, while the museum has displayed it on the mantelpiece in the Ballroom with Classical decoration from about 1800. The maker of the bust is unknown; it was probably an Italian sculptor. The sculpture was made in the 4th quarter of the 18th century, in Classicism, when it was fashionable to decorate palace interiors with copies of ancient sculptures. Princess Izabela Lubomirska may have acquired it during her trip to Italy in 1785-1786.