Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography
Muse and Pegasus
Artist
Carl Paul Jennewein
Year1933
Classification
sculpture
Medium
painted plaster
Dimensions64 × 88 in. (162.6 × 223.5 cm)
Credits
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
U.S. General Services Administration
- Based on classical myths and acts of justice, the four bas-reliefs, or low reliefs, were designed by Carl Paul Jennewein and executed by Anthony di Lorenzo. In 1933, they were installed on the first-floor ceiling of the Department of Justice Building in Washington, D.C. Inspired by Greek mythology, Muse and Pegasus pictures one of the Muses—they were goddesses of literature, science, and the arts—with the mythical winged horse, Pegasus. With its hooves, Pegasus opened a sacred spring called the Hippocrene, from which the Muses drank to receive poetic inspiration. In the relief, the Muse holds aloft a lighted torch in one hand while controlling the Pegasus’ reins in the other. Instead of composing a quiet scene, the sculptor depicts the Muse attempting to guide and control the rearing Pegasus. In doing so, Jennewein highlights heroism and wisdom as important virtues that might inspire workers at the U.S Department of Justice who walked under the reliefs every day.
