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Odysseus and Polyphemus (1896) by Arnold Böcklin Printed Canvas turns the escape from the Cyclops in Homer’s Odyssey into dramatic panoramic wall art. Odysseus and his crew fight through rough water in a low boat while the blinded giant Polyphemus raises a boulder from the rocky shore. Explore more museum-inspired designs in our wall art collection.
Artwork Odysseus and Polyphemus German title Odysseus und Polyphemus Artist Arnold Böcklin Date 1896 Original medium Oil and tempera on panel Original dimensions 66 × 150 cm, recorded as height × width Current collection Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Accession number 2012.626 Literary source Homer’s Odyssey, Book IX Subject Odysseus escaping while Polyphemus prepares to throw a boulder at the ship Art-historical context Swiss Symbolism and mythological landscape painting
Arnold Böcklin painted Odysseus and Polyphemus in 1896, near the end of his career. The panoramic composition shows the final stage of the Cyclops episode from Book IX of Homer’s Odyssey. Odysseus and the surviving crew have escaped the cave and reached their boat, but the danger is not over.
Polyphemus stands high on the rocky coast and prepares to throw a massive stone toward the vessel. Below him, the crew pull through broken water while Odysseus calls back toward the shore. Böcklin gives the sea, cliffs and waves as much narrative force as the human and mythological figures.
Odysseus and his men enter the cave of Polyphemus, a Cyclops and son of Poseidon. The giant traps them inside and kills several members of the crew. Odysseus introduces himself as “Nobody,” gets Polyphemus drunk and blinds his single eye with a heated wooden stake.
The survivors escape beneath the Cyclops’s sheep when the blinded giant lets the flock leave the cave. Once aboard the ship, Odysseus reveals his real name and taunts Polyphemus. The Cyclops then throws rocks toward the vessel and calls on Poseidon to punish the hero’s journey home.
Böcklin chooses the dangerous aftermath rather than the blinding inside the cave. Polyphemus has discovered the escape and lifts a boulder while the ship struggles through the surf. The painting therefore focuses on distance, pursuit and the consequences of Odysseus’s decision to announce his identity.
The crew are not calmly sailing away. They are still within range of the giant and the violent coastline. The low boat, high cliffs and rising stone make the imbalance of power immediately visible.
Polyphemus is a one-eyed Cyclops in Homer’s Odyssey. He lives outside the social rules valued by the Greeks, rejects the obligations of hospitality and eats members of Odysseus’s crew. He is also the son of Poseidon, which makes Odysseus’s victory costly. The escape saves the remaining men but brings the sea god’s anger into the rest of the voyage.
Odysseus’s disguise as “Nobody” makes the escape possible. After reaching the ship, he abandons that protective anonymity and reveals his identity. The act can be read as courage, pride, desire for fame or a failure of restraint.
This is the central moral tension of the episode. Odysseus has already defeated the Cyclops through intelligence, but his need to claim credit creates a new danger. Polyphemus can now name him in the curse addressed to Poseidon.
The story celebrates strategic intelligence. Odysseus cannot defeat Polyphemus through physical strength, so he uses language, planning and teamwork. Yet the escape is followed by an avoidable act of pride. The same hero who carefully invents the name “Nobody” later destroys the advantage by identifying himself.
Böcklin’s painting captures both achievement and consequence. The ship has escaped the cave, but the giant’s boulder and the hostile sea show that victory has not produced safety.
The original is extremely wide, with a ratio of approximately 2.27:1. The small boat moves across rough water near one edge, while the giant occupies the elevated shore at the other. This separation allows the sea and coastline to carry the drama between them.
Crashing waves, jagged rock and white spray create a strong horizontal movement. Böcklin’s early training as a landscape painter is visible in the way nature becomes an active part of the myth rather than a passive background.
The painting is a distinctive late example of Böcklin’s mythological imagination. Instead of presenting the Cyclops episode as an archaeological reconstruction or heroic figure study, he turns it into a psychologically charged landscape.
The work also belongs to the wider Symbolist interest in myth, memory and emotional atmosphere. The scene is recognizable, but its force comes from the threatening scale of land and sea, the isolation of the vessel and the sense that the hero’s words have renewed the danger.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston records the work as Odysseus and Polyphemus by Arnold Böcklin, dated 1896. The painting is executed in oil and tempera on panel, measures 66 × 150 cm and carries accession number 2012.626.
The museum interpretation emphasizes Böcklin’s landscape training and describes Odysseus calling back toward the shore while Polyphemus prepares to hurl a boulder at the escaping boat.
The Cyclops episode occurs early in Odysseus’s account of his wanderings. Later, he encounters Circe and then passes the Sirens. Continue the chronology through Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses and Ulysses and the Sirens.
The voyage eventually leads back to Ithaca. Read about the homecoming in Ulysses’ Revenge on Penelope’s Suitors, or explore the complete visual history in The Odyssey in Art.
Size Inches (W × H) Centimeters (W × H) Best for Small 20″ × 10″ 50.80 × 25.40 cm Compact walls, reading corners and smaller panoramic displays Medium 30″ × 15″ 76.20 × 38.10 cm Bedrooms, studies, offices and narrow feature walls Large 40″ × 20″ 101.60 × 50.80 cm Living rooms, desks, sideboards and console walls Extra Large 60″ × 30″ 152.40 × 76.20 cm Statement walls, offices and gallery-style interiors
All dimensions are written as width × height. Measurements should match the live supplier variants before publication.
The original painting has an aspect ratio of approximately 2.27:1, while all four product variants use a 2:1 ratio. Filling the canvas therefore requires cropping from the left and right edges. A centered crop could remove essential narrative content because the boat and Polyphemus occupy opposite sides of the composition.
Create one manually approved 2:1 crop that keeps the complete boat, the main crew, Polyphemus, the raised boulder, the rocky coast and enough sea between the figures to preserve the story. Do not use an automatic center crop. Because all four sizes share the same ratio, the approved crop can then be applied consistently across the range.
The panoramic format works well above sofas, beds, sideboards, desks, long consoles and low bookcases. Deep blue-green water, pale surf, gray rock, warm brown earth and muted sky tones pair well with neutral walls, dark wood, stone, leather and aged metal.
The drama depends on small figures placed across a very wide composition. Larger sizes make the ship, giant and thrown rock easier to read. Smaller formats work best where viewers can approach the canvas closely.
Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901) was a Swiss painter born in Basel. He became one of the most influential artists associated with nineteenth-century Symbolism. His work often combines carefully observed landscapes with mythological, dreamlike or unsettling subjects.
Böcklin spent long periods in Italy, and Mediterranean scenery shaped many of his imagined settings. In Odysseus and Polyphemus, classical myth is carried by the sea, rocks and atmosphere as much as by the figures themselves.
Dust the canvas gently with a clean, soft cloth. Avoid abrasive cleaners, excessive moisture, persistent direct sunlight, high humidity and strong heat sources. Follow any additional care instructions supplied with the final canvas blank.
This product is a printed canvas reproduction, not the original oil-and-tempera panel. The original belongs to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The underlying 1896 artwork is public domain, but the rights attached to a specific museum photograph or supplier image may differ. Verify the exact production image, commercial-use terms, resolution and required credit before publication.
Who painted Odysseus and Polyphemus?
Arnold Böcklin painted the work in 1896.
What part of The Odyssey does the painting show?
It shows the escape from Polyphemus in Book IX, after Odysseus and his crew have blinded the Cyclops and left his cave.
Why is Polyphemus throwing a rock?
He is trying to destroy the escaping ship after Odysseus reveals his identity and taunts him from the sea.
Why did Odysseus call himself Nobody?
The false name prevents Polyphemus from identifying his attacker when the Cyclops calls for help.
Are Odysseus and Ulysses the same person?
Yes. Odysseus is the Greek name and Ulysses is its Latinized form.
Where is the original painting?
The original belongs to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
What are the original painting’s dimensions?
The original measures 66 × 150 cm, listed as height × width.
What canvas sizes are available?
The four sizes are 20″ × 10″ – 50.80 × 25.40 cm, 30″ × 15″ – 76.20 × 38.10 cm, 40″ × 20″ – 101.60 × 50.80 cm, and 60″ × 30″ – 152.40 × 76.20 cm.
Will all four sizes use the same crop?
Yes. All four variants use the same 2:1 ratio, so one manually approved crop can be applied consistently across the range.
Why should an automatic center crop be avoided?
The boat and Polyphemus occupy opposite sides of the original composition. An automatic crop could remove one of the two essential narrative elements.
Artwork identity, artist, date, measurements, collection and accession information were reviewed against the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston record presented through Google Arts & Culture and the MFA’s official print record. Medium and public-domain artwork status were cross-checked against the Wikimedia Commons object records. The Symbolist context was reviewed against institutional material from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Continue the story with the Circe Invidiosa printed canvas, which belongs to the wider classical reception of Circe, or move toward Ithaca with the Eckersberg canvas of Odysseus reclaiming his home.
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