Illustration to Odyssey 1793

John Flaxman created this illustration to Homer's Odyssey using lines to convey form and emotion. Flaxman, working in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, was part of a broader Neoclassical movement. This movement looked back to ancient Greece and Rome for ideals of beauty, order, and civic virtue. Here, we see a bard, playing his lyre and recounting tales from the Odyssey. His performance elicits a strong emotional response, as one listener covers his face in grief or contemplation. In Flaxman's time, the representation of emotions, especially those associated with heroism and tragedy, was highly valued as a way to ennoble the human experience. The image invites us to reflect on the power of storytelling. Stories, especially those rooted in a shared cultural heritage, like the Odyssey, help shape individual and collective identities. Flaxman’s emphasis on emotional expression reminds us of art’s capacity to connect us to our own feelings.