Description
Painted in 1849, this canvas was the work that won Gustave Boulanger the coveted Prix de Rome. It illustrates a pivotal moment from Homer’s Odyssey: the aged nurse Eurycleia, washing the feet of a disguised traveler, suddenly recognizes Odysseus by an old scar on his leg after his long-delayed return to Ithaca.
- Boulanger broke from the traditional frontal, Poussin-inspired staging used by earlier Prix de Rome painters, instead adopting a dramatic low-angle viewpoint that distorts the figures and heightens their emotional expressions.
- The composition emphasizes the muscular, weathered body of Odysseus, contrasting his physical presence with the emotional distance still separating him from his wife Penelope, who has not yet recognized him.
- As with much of Boulanger’s early work, the painting reflects the precise attention to Greco-Roman domestic detail that defined the Néo-Grec school he championed alongside Jean-Léon Gérôme.
Our reproduction is entirely hand-painted in oil on canvas by a skilled studio artist, not printed. Each brushstroke is built up layer by layer to recreate the original’s dramatic lighting, the tension in Eurycleia’s gesture, and the sculptural modeling of Odysseus’s figure. The canvas can be produced to the original 147 x 114 cm dimensions or custom-sized to fit your space, and arrives ready to frame or stretch.
- 100% hand-painted oil on canvas
- Available in the original scale or a custom size of your choosing
- Faithful recreation of tone, texture, and composition
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