Clio, Euterpe and Thalia

Nine Muses had to fit into one small room, and Eustache Le Sueur divided them among five panels. Two of the panels hold three sisters each, and Terpsichore, Urania and Calliope each have a panel of their own. On the ceiling above, Phaeton begs his father Apollo to let him drive the chariot of the sun, so the Muses sat around the walls beneath the god who leads them.

This panel gathers history, music and comedy. Clio holds the trumpet of fame and a book, Euterpe has her flute, and Thalia, the Muse of comedy, carries a mask. The three turn to one another in conversation and pay the viewer no attention. The room was dismantled long ago, and the best record of how it looked is an engraving by Bernard Picart, published in 1740, which shows each picture set in its place in the panelling.