Marshaling the Muses: The Vatican's Pio-Clementino Museum and the Greek Ideal.

The article focuses on the historic interior of the Sala delle Muse or the Hall of the Muses, which is a part of the Pio-Clementino Museum in Vatican City. During the 18th century, Europe's early museums were constructed and decorated as a tool for enlightening and educating citizens on princely magnificence and knowledge in the past. The Hall of the Muses recaptures the experience of its early visitors and provides archival documentation, tracking down its creation process. An overview of the discovery of the Muses along with its archaeological and historic contexts is offered. Meanwhile, the discovery of the Muses and its Hellenic interior presents an idealized vision of antiquity which proves to be the most important surviving museum rooms from the age of the Grand Tour.