Circe with companions of Ulysses changed into animals

This etching by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione is a work of striking originality. Its subject has been interpreted as representing an episode in Homer’s Odyssey, with the central figure depicting the sorceress Circe, shown pointing with her wand to a pile of armour. The armour belongs to Ulysses’s men, whom she has transformed with a magic potion into beasts. In Homer’s story the men have been turned into pigs, although Castiglione depicts a variety of animals, including a sheep and dog, as well as a peacock perched on a wall. For the pose of Circe, Castiglione drew on a tradition of depictions of melancholy.

Castiglione trained in Genoa and worked in Rome in the late 1620s. His interest in classical art is particularly evident in this inventive composition.

Maria Zagala, Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs

WALL LABEL: A Beautiful Line: Italian prints from Mantegna to Piranesi, 2012

This etching of a woman seated amongst ruins and surrounded by animals is a work of strikingly originality. Its subject has recently been interpreted as representing an episode told in Homer’s Odyssey. For the figure of the sorceress, Castiglione drew on a tradition of depictions of melancholy. Circe points with her wand to a pile of armour belonging to Ulysses’s men, whom she has changed with a magic potion into beasts. In Homer’s story the men have been turned into pigs, yet Castiglione depicts a variety of animals including a sheep, dog and a peacock, perched on a wall.

Maria Zagala, Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs