Late 19th Century Neoclassical Sculpture of Clio, Muse of History by Ernesto Gazzeri

A beautiful late 19th century Neoclassical carrara marble sculpture by Italian artist Ernesto Gazzeri depicting the goddess Clio, Muse of History. She is shown carrying a scroll, an element of iconography with which she has long been associated. Clio is a member of the mythological Greek pantheon and a daughter of Zeus, King of the Gods and of the Titaness Mnemosyne, goddess of memory.

Gazzeri was born in Modena, Italy in 1866 where he later attended the Institute of Fine Arts from 1875 to 1884. Finding himself drawn to Rome and inspired by its vast examples of Classical art, he opened a studio in the city where he focused on creating works of portraiture and sepulchral monuments as well as mythological themes. This versatility earned the appreciation of international nobility, royal, and political figures as they visited Rome on the European Grand Tour. Among Gazzeri’s more notable works, sculptural subjects are King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and First Lady of the United States of America Eleanor Roosevelt. Mythological themes included The Three Graces, Apollo and Daphne, and the biblical David.

By far his largest work is, The Mysteries of Life, an allegory meant to illustrate mankind at the three ages of life, is a lifesize sculpture composed of 18 figures positioned around a fountain. It was completed in 1928 for Glendale, California’s Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Gazzeri continued to sculpt into the 1940s and perhaps longer before dying in 1965 in Rome.