Odysseus and Polyphemus
Arnold Böcklin
(Swiss, 1827–1901)
1896
Medium/TechniqueOil and tempera on panel
Dimensions66 x 150 cm (26 x 59 1/16 in.)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds by exchange from the Gift of Laurence K. and Lorna J. Marshall
Accession number2012.626
On View
On viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
Böcklin’s training as a landscape painter shines through in this unconventional interpretation of an episode from the ancient Greek epic, the Odyssey. Set on the island of the Cyclopes—one-eyed, ill-tempered giants—this dramatic scene finds the escaping hero Odysseus calling back to the shore, taunting the Cyclops Polyphemus, who heaves a boulder after the boat. Playing up strange, grotesque, and even ridiculous elements of such stories, Böcklin conjured a pre-classical world governed by violence and lust, while giving it a plausible setting rooted in naturalistic observation.
ProvenanceBy 1897, Adolf von der Mühll-Bachofen (b. 1850 – d. 1909), Basel; by descent to his widow, Maria Von der Mühll-Bachofen (b. 1855 – d. 1925) and, until at least 1951, their daughter, Georgine Fürstenberger-Von der Mühll (b. 1884), Basel. 1968, sold by the Galerie Schulthess, Basel, to a private collection, Arlesheim (near Basel), Switzerland; until at least 1977, remained in this private collection. 1999, acquired in London by a private European collector; December 1, 2005, anonymous (European private collector) sale, Tajan, Paris, lot 7, bought in; June 11, 2012, anonymous (European private collector) sale, Sotheby’s, London, lot 8, bought in; 2012, sold from this private collection, through Sotheby’s, London, to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 24, 2012)
Unidentified artist, Russian (Palekh School), 18th century
Francesco del Cossa
Third quarter of the 15th century
Giovanni Battista Bertucci
Unidentified artist, British, second quarter 16th century
Fra Carnevale (Bartolomeo di Giovanni Corradini)
about 1467