Six Artworks Inspired by Homer's Odyssey, from Turner to Bearden

A new wave of interest in Homer's Odyssey, sparked by Christopher Nolan's latest blockbuster, has brought attention to nearly 30 centuries of artistic interpretations. The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses an ancient terracotta depiction of Odysseus and his nurse Eurykleia, while an oil painting of Calypso as a mermaid captivates viewers. Contemporary artist Paul Chan's inflatable sculptures, which generate their own 'moving images' as they breathe, wriggle, and sigh, offer a modern take. The article highlights six artworks that bring the poem into dialogue with various cultural histories. J.M.W. Turner's 'Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus' (1829), despite contemporary criticism, depicts Odysseus' escape from the Cyclops, with John Ruskin calling it 'the central picture of Turner's career.' It remains a prized possession of the National Gallery in London. Romare Bearden's 'A Black Odyssey' series (1977) reimagines the epic in 20 collages, situating themes of dislocation and longing within an African-American context, with the ship as a metaphor for the Middle Passage. The series toured from 2012 to 2015, ending at Columbia University's Wallach Gallery, near Bearden's former Harlem home.