BALEN, Hendrick van
(b. 1575, Antwerpen, d. 1632, Antwerpen)

Odysseus as a Guest of the Nymph Calypso

c. 1616
Oil on wood, 80 x 116 cm
Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna

In this mythological scene the arrangement of beast and bird depicts the Four Elements, according to the tradition of Flemish cabinet painting. The painting is a result of collaboration of three painters: Hendrick van Balen painted the figures, all the animals were painted by Jan Brueghel the Elder, and Joos de Momper produced the wild and rugged mountain landscape.