Calliope

Augustin Pajou

National Gallery of Art

A woman carved from cream-white marble stands holding an open book to which she points in this free-standing sculpture. In this photograph, her body faces us but her head turns to our right. She has a long nose, small mouth, and rounded chin. Her wavy, upswept hair is topped by a semi-circular headdress. Her voluminous gown clings to her torso, leaving one breast exposed. The fabric falls in deep folds around her legs and sandalled feet. Her left shoulder, on our right, is bare. A band crosses her chest from that shoulder to her waist. She holds the tall book in her right hand, on our left, braced against that hip. Her other hand points to the words inscribed in Latin on its pages. It reads, “CALLIOPE REGI NA,HOMINVM, DIVVMQVE VO LVPTAS CARMINIS HE ROI NVMERIS FVLGENTIA SIGNIS AGMINA, BEL LANTVMQVE ANIMOS, ET P RAELIA CAN TO, INCLYTAQVE AETERNAE COMMI TO. NOMINA FAMAE.” She stands on a square base supported on a fawn-brown, veined marble plinth. The background behind her is nickel gray.