FLAXMAN, John
(b. 1755, York, d. 1826, London)

Odysseus in the Underworld

1792
Pen, 229 x 298 mm
Royal Academy of Arts, London

This is an illustration to Homer's Odyssey, Book 11, 779.

The English artist and sculptor John Flaxman had a lasting influence on the taste of his age. His outline drawings produced from the 1790s were considered brilliant illustrations of antique literature for their striking simplicity.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 13 minutes):
Claudio Monteverdi: Il ritorno d'Ulisse, Act I, Duet of Odysseus and Pallas Athene