Public domain
Hermes Orders Calypso to Release Odysseus
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
De Lairesse was well versed in the classics. Here he portrayed a story in Homer’s Odyssey, the epic poem about Odysseus’ wanderings after the fall of Troy. During his journey the Greek hero lands on Ogygia, the island ruled by the goddess Calypso. She falls in love with him, and detains him for seven years. Ultimately the Olympian gods prevail upon her, through their messenger Hermes, to release Odysseus.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineHermes Orders Calypso to Release Odysseus. 1670. Gerard Valck. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
