John William WATERHOUSE
English 1849-1917
Ulysses and the Sirens
1891
oil on canvas
100.6 x 202.0 cm
Purchased 1891
p.396.3-1

During the Victorian period there was great fascination with the ancient world. That interest was manifested in the arts as exemplified in paintings such as Ulysses and the Sirens.

The subject matter drawn from Homer's inspiring tale of Ulysses' adventures and Waterhouse has painstakingly included certain details which can only have come from his study and knowledge of ancient history and of objects found in archaeological digs and brought to London. The facial characteristics of Homer and his men, their costumes, particularly their helmets and the details of the boat were inspired by ancient imagery.

When this work was first exhibited a critic wrote that Waterhouse was unique and radical in his depiction of the Sirens as bird figures, a motif he could only have seen on an ancient Greek red figure vase by the Siren Painter in the British Museum.