Arion on a Dolphin

Jan Muller

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Muller made six engravings after Cornelis; and, impressions of four are in the Met. In addition to the present work they include Cain Killing Abel (56.597.4), The Fight Between Ulysses and Irus (56.597.6) and The Three Fates Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos (56.597.7). This work illustrates a scene from the life of Arion, aGreek poet and singer, who lived in Corinth in the sixth century BC and was considered the best lyre player of his time. Returning from a sojourn in Italy and Sicily, Arion was seized by sailors who robbed him of the fortune he had made in various musical contests. They allowed him to sing one last song before hurling himself into the sea. His beautiful music, however, attracted a school of dolphins who rescued him. They were likely sent by Apollo, the god of music and poetry. In the present work, Arion is sitting astride a dolphin strumming his lyre, despite the menacing clouds and turbulent sea, on his way back to home to Corinth. The engraving was commissioned by Hendrik Laurensz. Spieghel, the Amsterdam poet, and includes his motto ‘Deugd Verhuegt’ (Virtue gives delight) inscribed below the image.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.

Metropolitan Museum of Art