Odysseus and Calypso
1882 · Oil on mahogany · Kunstmuseum Basel
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About this work
- Artist
- Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901)
- Year
- 1882
- Medium
- Oil on mahogany
- Original size
- 103.5 × 149.8 cm
- Collection
- Kunstmuseum Basel
- Movement
- Symbolism
On a sandy beach, the nymph Calypso sits at the mouth of a dark cave on a bright red cloth, bare to the waist and holding a lyre, looking across at Odysseus. He stands far off on a black rock with his back to her, wrapped in a dark blue cloak, staring out to sea. The story is told in the fifth book of Homer's Odyssey: longing for home and Penelope, Odysseus is allowed by the gods to leave her island. Böcklin painted it in 1882, and the Kunstmuseum Basel notes that his turned-away, pillar-like Odysseus was later taken up by Giorgio de Chirico and Alberto Giacometti.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A red cloth against black rock, sand and a white sky makes a striking picture for a living room, study or hallway with dark walls. Pair it with Waterhouse's Ulysses and the Sirens and hang this one at 24×16 in a black frame.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Symbolism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1882)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- living room, hallway or entryway, study or library, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×16. Prints at 18×12, 24×16, 36×24 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard; 36×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or dark wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Odysseus and Calypso in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Odysseus and Calypso painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
