15 Paintings of Circe Across Three Millennia

The Collector surveys 15 paintings of Circe, the enchantress from Homer's Odyssey, spanning from a 6th-century BC Greek kylix to a contemporary work by Kirk Richards. The oldest known depiction, a kylix from circa 550–525 BC, shows Circe transforming Odysseus' men into swine. A lekythos from 490–480 BC, found in Eretria, depicts her offering a drink to Odysseus. Renaissance works include Dosso Dossi's 'Circe and Her Lovers in a Landscape' (ca. 1525), where a nude Circe sits surrounded by animal lovers, and two Mannerist paintings by Bartholomeus Spranger (ca. 1580s) that reverse power dynamics between Circe and Odysseus. Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione's 'The Sorceress Circe' (1651) shows her clothed and melancholic. Angelica Kauffmann's 'Circe Enticing Ulysses' (1786) introduces subtle romantic tension. Briton Rivière's 'Circe and the Friends of Ulysses' (1871) presents her in white, lauding over swine. John Collier's 'Circe' (1885) depicts her nude with a tiger and ocelot. John William Waterhouse painted two versions: 'Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses' (1891) and 'Circe Invidiosa' (1892), the latter showing her transforming Scylla. Wright Barker's 'Circe' (1889) portrays her as a musician with a lyre. Franz von Stuck's 'Tilla Durieux as Circe' (ca. 1913) captures the actress in an Art Nouveau style. Boris Vallejo's 'Circe' (1991) is a hyper-realistic fantasy illustration for a book cover. Kirk Richards' 'Circe' exemplifies Classical Realism with chiaroscuro.