Odyssey painting goes on show at city art gallery

A woman stands beside the Turner painting "Ulysses deriding Polyphemus – Homer’s Odyssey" in a gallery, the artwork showing a tall‑sailed ship in a dramatic misty landscape, set against a deep burgundy wall with smaller sketches displayed nearby.

Image source, BBC/ Emily JohnsonImage caption,

The famous Turner painting is on loan from the National Gallery

ByEmily JohnsonYorkshire

Published1 hour ago

A famous painting depicting a scene from Homer's Odyssey has gone on display at York Art Gallery.

The J.M.W. Turner creation, on loan from the National Gallery and forming part of a new exhibition, shows Ulysses, also known as Odysseus, sailing from the island where Polyphemus, a one-eyed giant, had held him and his men captive.

Following the recent success of the new Christopher Nolan film based on the epic poem, curators said they hoped there would be renewed interest in artists' interpretations of Homer's work.

The painting is one of more than 100 works to go on display as part of Turner, Wedgwood & Beyond: Inspired by Flaxman, which opens at the gallery on Friday.

The exhibition looks at work by John Flaxman, a York-born artist, on the 200th anniversary of his death, as well as the artists he inspired.

Senior curator Dr Beatrice Bertram said: "Flaxman may not be a household name these days, but what we hope to do within this show is to really redress him and give him some time in the light again.

"In his time, he was internationally renowned for his sculptures and his designs, particularly his illustrations of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey."

A John Flaxman sculpture in a gallery room.

Image source, BBC/ Emily JohnsonImage caption,

John Flaxman was known for his sculptures and designs

According to the show's curators, elements of Flaxman's sketches can be seen in Turner's painting called Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus – Homer's Odyssey, including outlines of horses in the sunset and the shadow of a cyclops.

The works are shown side by side on the gallery wall, inviting visitors to compare them.

Co-curator Richard Johns, from the University of York, said the exhibition had not been planned around the release of the film, but was rather a "happy accident".

"It wasn't actually something we had in mind when we were developing the exhibition, or even when we asked the National Gallery if they would lend this painting," he explained.

"The interest in the Odyssey as a poem has increased enormously as a result of the success of the film.

"I hope it will encourage people who've seen the film or have a renewed interest in Homer to come and see what artists in the 18th and 19th Century made of Homer's poetry, just as we've seen how an artist like Christopher Nolan in the 21st Century interprets those same ideas."

The exhibition will be on display until 17 January 2027.