Virtual Art and Odyssey
Figure 1.0:
Figure 1.1: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_William_Waterhouse_-_Ulysses_and_the_Sirens_(1891).jpg
.jpg){kind=link}
The Odyssey is one of the major poems that is attributed to homer. It was written during the period where a great ancient Greek mythology is believed to have happened. The poem focusses on the king of Ithaca known as Odysseus and his journey after the fall of Troy after the Trojan war. During his absence, Odyssey is believed to have died and returns home only to find that some suitors wanted his wife’s- Penelope hand in marriage.
One of the great artists whose work represented the Odyssey period is John William Waterhouse. In figure 1.0, Odysseus is being offered an enchanted cup by Circe. This is the cup that turns him and his men into violent individuals and assists them to fight through the Trojan War. The figure is also used by Waterhouse to explain the adventures that Odysseus and his man had throughout the time when they were involved in the war. The adventure represented in the picture is particularly helpful as it was the turning point where Odysseus and his men received the motivation to accomplish their mission during the war. The painting also presents the neoclassicism nature of Waterhouse which is said to have been influenced by Pre-Raphaelites (Gill).
In figure 1.1 Waterhouse demonstrates some of the dangers that Odysseus and his men were to go through in the sea as warned by Circe. The dangers were those of sirens that came from sea nymphs. In the picture, Odysseus orders that he be tied to a mast so that he would not escape at the sound of the sirens. He was not willing to escape even when he knew he would be in danger out of his resolve to fight the Trojan war and win it. The painting is a representation of predators who meet their prey instead of luring them (Gill).
Works Cited
Gill, N S. “See Art Based On the Odyssey.” ThoughtCo. N.p., 2017. Web. 24 Sept. 2017.
Hi Jon,
These are well-chosen paintings. That said, your analysis of them could go much further. What aspects of the poem (beyond the basic facts of the plot) does each picture emphasize? What artistic techniques and representational choices–use of color, of light, of relative sizes of the figures–affect the viewer’s understanding of the scene?
In order to do this kind of work, it’s crucial to pay attention to your own reactions (whether to a literary text or to a painting). What draws you in? What puzzles you?
Interpretive analysis is hard–there are no universal experiences of viewing a work of art, and therefore no hard-and-fast ‘right’ answers–but it’s also enormously rewarding.
Best,
Prof Kolb