The ceiling of the Palais Garnier’s foyer is ornated with an extremely rich and colorful decor.
The oval medallion that you see in the lower part of the picture represents muse Thalia, dressed in white, throwing the figure of Ridicule into the void. This composition is none other than an allegory of Comedy, art which Thalia preside over according to Greek mythology.
As for the big central painting, it embodies Music.
Secondary scenes give rhythm to the ceiling’s arcades. Muses are also depicted in individual frames. Traditionally nine in number, there are only eight of them here. Polyhymnia, muse of Rhetoric and Eloquence, had to be sacrificed for lack of space.
All of the paintings were commissioned from painter Paul Baudry, who has sometimes been compared to Michelangelo and his Sistine Chapel for this large ceiling decoration.