Schede
Francesco Valdem, a young poet, died at the age of 38 in 1842. For his tomb Prudenzio Piccioli sculpted a high-relief Erato, muse of poetry, overcome with grief and leaning on the column holding the urn. She wears a simple tunic, held at the waist by a thin belt. While the left arm, partially covered by the robe, leans slightly on the column, the right with difficulty holds a wreath of wild flowers and roses, the symbol of the muse. The pyramidal composition is finalised with a torch, which appears to have been abandoned at the base of the memorial stone at the end of the funeral ceremony. The high relief classical composition contrasts with the moulding, now considered rather eclectic.
