# Ulysses and Circe [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [BIJLERT, Jan van]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on panel, 51 x 81 cm ## Commentary The present painting depicts an episode from the Odyssey \(Bk 10\). On their journey home after the Trojan War, Ulysses and his companions came upon the island of the sorceress, Circe. With a magic potion, she transformed the men into swine; however Ulysses, having been forewarned by Mercury and having taken an antidote, was able to resist her magic. The present painting depicts the moment when Circe lifts her wand to touch Ulysses and activate the spell. <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="\#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 13 minutes\):<BR><A HREF="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/music1/17\_cent/monteverdi\_ulisse.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true"><B>Claudio Monteverdi: Il ritorno d'Ulisse, Act I, Duet of Odysseus and Pallas Athene</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> ## Related artworks - [A Woman Holding Pancakes]() - [Allegory of the Sense of Smell]() - [Bagpipe Player]() - [Girl Teasing a Cat]() - [Music-making Company]() - [Musical Company]() - [Portrait of an Unknown Man]() - [Shepherd Holding a Flute]() - [Shepherdess]() - [The Concert]() - [Venus and Amor and an Old Woman]() - [Virgin and Child]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()