Parnassus

work by Mengs

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July 1, 2026

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Parnassus is a fresco painted by Anton Raphael Mengs in 1761 for the Villa Albani in Rome. This artwork is considered a significant piece in the establishment of Neoclassical painting. Mengs, a Bohemian painter, was a leading artist of early Neoclassicism and was influenced by his friendship with archaeologist J.J. Winckelmann, sharing his enthusiasm for classical antiquity. The fresco depicts Mount Parnassus, a mountain in Greece sacred to Apollo and the Muses in mythology, and was seen by Roman poets as a source of inspiration. Mengs's Parnassus eschewed Baroque drama for a style that blended ancient sculpture with elements from artists like Raphael and Titian.12

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Anton Raphael Mengs
…completion in 1761, his fresco Parnassus at the Villa Albani in Rome created a sensation and helped establish the ascendancy of Neoclassical painting. Mengs also continued to paint portraits during this period, competing with Pompeo Batoni, the leading Rococo portraitist of the Roman school. In 1761 he went to the…
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…completion in 1761, his fresco Parnassus at the Villa Albani in Rome created a sensation and helped establish the ascendancy of Neoclassical painting. Mengs also continued to paint portraits during this period, competing with Pompeo Batoni, the leading Rococo portraitist of the Roman school. In 1761 he went to the…
Read More

Neoclassical art
Painting
…Neoclassical work such as Mengs’s Parnassus (1761) owes much of its inspiration to 17th-century Classicism and to Raphael for both the poses of its figures and its general composition. Many of the early paintings of the Neoclassical artist Benjamin West derive their compositions from works by Nicolas Poussin, and Kauffmann’s…
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…Neoclassical work such as Mengs’s Parnassus (1761) owes much of its inspiration to 17th-century Classicism and to Raphael for both the poses of its figures and its general composition. Many of the early paintings of the Neoclassical artist Benjamin West derive their compositions from works by Nicolas Poussin, and Kauffmann’s…
Read More