Raphael's Allegory of Poetry
1839
Step into the clouds with this 1839 masterpiece by Eugen Eduard Schäffer, a dreamy tribute to the power of poetry. At the center sits a winged muse, crowned with sun rays like a beacon of inspiration, clutching a lyre and a book—the ultimate tools of the trade. Flanking her are two chubby cherubs holding up stone tablets that read 'NUMINE' and 'AFFLA TVR', which together form the Latin phrase 'Numine afflantur' (meaning 'inspired by the divine spirit'). It's a perfect Romantic-era visualization of how artists felt touched by the gods when creating their best work.
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