Artist:
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Karl-Ernest-Rodolphe-Heinrich-Salem Lehmann
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Title:
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Calypso
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Date:
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1869
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Medium:
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Oil on canvas
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Dimensions:
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47 1/2 x 60 1/4 in. (120.7 x 153.0 cm)
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Credit Line:
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Gift of Bruce B. Dayton
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Location:
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Gallery 310
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The story of the beautiful nymph Calypso is told in Homer's "Odyssey", an ancient Greek epic. Calypso lived on the island of Ogygia, where the shipwrecked hero Ulysses (Odysseus) drifted ashore. Plying Ulysses with luxuries, love, and offers of immortality, Calypso kept him with her for seven years. Finally the gods intervened and let him sail for home. Here, Calypso mourns Ulysses' departure, on the same shore where the homesick hero himself used to stare despondently out to sea.
The painting is still in its original frame. The Latin inscription is from a Roman poet's retelling of Homer's famous poem: "When Ulysses sailed,/ By the lone wave Calypso wailed./ Day after day unkempt sat she / And communed with the cruel sea."
Artist/Creator(s)
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Name:
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Lehmann, Karl-Ernest-Rodolphe-Heinrich-Salem
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Nationality:
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French
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Life Dates:
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French, 1814 - 1882
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Object Description
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Inscriptions:
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Signature and Date LL in black: [H. Lehmann/1869]
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Classification:
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Paintings
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Physical Description:
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Mythology, The Odyssey, Calypso mourning over Odysseus on isle of Ogygia
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Creation Place:
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Europe, France, , ,
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Accession #:
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88.36
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Owner:
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The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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