Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus
1829 · Oil on canvas · National Gallery, London
📦 Free shipping on every order — or upgrade to Express ($14.9) at checkout. Most orders arrive in ~4–8 business days (Express 2–4).
About this work
- Artist
- J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851)
- Year
- 1829
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 132 × 203 cm
- Collection
- National Gallery, London
- Movement
- Romanticism
Ulysses stands on the deck of his ship in a scarlet cloak, arms raised in triumph, taunting the blinded Cyclops Polyphemus, whose vast shadowy body sprawls like a cloud across the clifftop above. Sea nymphs glimmer at the prow, the horses of Apollo rise with the sun, and the whole scene dissolves in morning haze. The subject is from Book IX of Homer's Odyssey. Turner painted it in 1829, working from oil sketches made in Italy the year before, and exhibited it at the Royal Academy that summer. Colour and light carry the drama more than the figures do, which is why it is often seen as the turning point towards his late manner; Ruskin in 1856 called it the central picture of Turner's career. It entered the National Gallery in London with the Turner Bequest in 1856.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A scarlet cloak, sea nymphs and a scene dissolving in morning haze, for a living room, study or hallway at 36×24 in black. A warm grey, cream or deep blue wall; it is colour and light first and reads from a distance.
- Style
- Romanticism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1829)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. 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. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; oak lightens it.
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 Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus — Homer's Odyssey in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus — Homer's Odyssey 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.
The full-bleed edition
The painting printed edge-to-edge at its own proportions, filling the whole sheet — and available on gallery-wrapped canvas.
