The Fight between Ulysses and Irus
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 42.6 x 32.8 cm (16 3/4 x 12 15/16 in.) sheet: 46.7 x 34.1 cm (18 3/8 x 13 7/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen
Accession Number
2012.92.3
Art Historical Context
In the electrifying engraving *The Fight between Ulysses and Irus* (1589), Jan Muller captures a dramatic episode from Homer's *Odyssey*. Here, the disguised hero Ulysses clashes with the boastful beggar Irus in a raw test of strength outside the palace of Penelope. Muller, a masterful Dutch engraver from Haarlem, worked after a design by his contemporary Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem, a leading figure in the Northern Mannerist movement. This style shines through in the dynamic, elongated figures and theatrical poses, emphasizing tension and emotion over classical harmony. Created as an engr...