Jean-Charles Cazin, 'Ulysses after the Shipwreck', about 1880-4

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey tells the story of Ulysses (Greek: Odysseus), the legendary Greek King of Ithaca, describing the trials that he faced while attempting to return to his homeland. We see him here as a brooding, solitary figure on the seashore, contemplating all that he has endured and lost, and yearning for his kingdom and his beloved wife, Penelope.

Having fought bravely during the Trojan War, Ulysses had enabled the Greeks to finally vanquish their enemies thanks to the creation of a giant wooden horse in which his soldiers hid, allowing them to secretly enter Troy and sack the city. The Odyssey describes the ten long years that followed, and Cazin’s painting depicts the aftermath of one of the particularly harrowing ordeals. Ulysses and his men had found themselves stranded on the island of Thrinacia, and when their supplies ran out, they were forced to slaughter the cattle belonging to the sun god Helios. As a result, they were punished by Zeus, who conjured up a storm so violent that it destroyed all of Ulysses’ ships and crew. Ulysses was the only survivor.

The protagonist managed to reach the island of Ogygia after surviving at sea for nine days by clinging onto the timbers of his shattered ship. A large, broken section of mast can be seen in the foreground of the painting. Dressed in a simple brown, sleeveless tunic held together with a red sash, Ulysses is lost in thought. The model seems to have been the artist’s son Michel Cazin (1869–1917), a sculptor, ceramicist, medallist and engraver.

On Ogygia, Ulysses encountered a beautiful nymph, Calypso, who received him kindly and fell in love with him, offering to make him immortal. The detail on the right may represent Calypso’s initial encounter with Ulysses, here shown as a seated, beardless figure, again wearing a brown tunic. In total, he remained on Ogygia for seven years. But Ulysses did not return Calypso’s affection and longed for home.

The painting’s soft tonality and noble mood seem classical in inspiration, reminiscent of Roman wall paintings and Italian Renaissance frescoes. During the early 1880s, Cazin was much influenced by the murals of his friend Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, in particular the latter’s delicate pastel colours. This painting belongs to a group of history paintings made in the late 1870s and early 1880s, including Tobias and the Angel (Art Institute, Chicago) and Hagar and Ishmael (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Tours).

Cazin was celebrated in particular for his luminous landscapes and had been encouraged by his former teacher Boisbaudran (1802–1897) to paint outdoors. The landscape represented here is most probably the coast at Equihen near Boulogne where Cazin lived. Its beaches, dunes and surrounding countryside became the setting for many of his paintings.