The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 16, 2026

Mercury Orders Calypso to Allow Ulysses Depart

c. 1670

Gerard de Lairesse

(Flemish, 1641–1711)
publisher

Nicolaes Visscher

(Netherlandish, 1649–1702)
Netherlands
etching
Sheet: 42.7 x 53.3 cm (16 13/16 x 21 in.); Matted: 45.7 x 61 cm (18 x 24 in.); Platemark: 35.7 x 47.9 cm (14 1/16 x 18 7/8 in.)
Gift of James A. Bergquist in Loving Memory of Katherine Lee Reid 2023.210
Catalogue raisonné: Timmers 1942; Gérard Lairesse 32, LeBlanc 52
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

A painting by this artist of the same subject is also in the museum’s collection (see 1992.2).

Description

In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus spends seven years captive to the nymph Calypso. Despite Calypso’s charms, Odysseus longed to return home to his family. In this composition, De Lairesse depicts the moment when the Olympian gods intervene, sending Hermes to release Odysseus from Calypso’s captivity. The Dutch De Lairesse brought French artistic taste to the Netherlands, reflected here in the firmly modeled, idealized figures and classical architecture.
  • ?–2023
    (James Bergquist, Boston, MA), given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    December 4, 2023–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Timmers, J. J. M. Gérard Lairesse. Amsterdam: H.J. Paris, 1942. No. 32
    Roy, Alain. Gérard de Lairesse, 1640-1711. Paris: Arthena, 1992. Gravures 52
  • {{cite web|title=Mercury Orders Calypso to Allow Ulysses Depart|url=false|author=Gerard de Lairesse, Nicolaes Visscher|year=c. 1670|access-date=16 March 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.210