Mercurius gelast Calypso om Odysseus te laten vertrekken 1694 - 1715

Curator: Welcome. This engraving, dating from 1694 to 1715, is by Gerard Valck, and it depicts Mercury ordering Calypso to release Ulysses. You can find it here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It's... intriguing! Immediately, I’m struck by the somewhat detached expressions. The monochrome gives it this ghostly, ethereal feel, like a scene from a half-remembered dream. It feels static almost—everyone is frozen. What do you think? Curator: The stillness reflects a moment of imposed intervention. It depicts a pivotal point within Homer's Odyssey, when Zeus sends Mercury to demand that Calypso release Odysseus from her island, where she has held him for years, yearning for immortality with him. Considering the source, how do we read gender and power here? Editor: Absolutely. Look at the staging! Calypso, partially unclothed, appears as a spoil or reward, subordinate to both Mercury and the absent Ulysses. Even the cherubic figure at the bottom, wielding what seems an absurdly large sword for its size, contributes to a tableau dripping with imbalance. The story isn't just about a goddess letting a hero go; it's also a portrait of masculine intervention overriding female agency. Curator: Precisely. The landscape in the background also reflects a sense of a stage, a setting constructed to frame power relations and historical narratives. Baroque art often placed myth within idealized landscapes, negotiating between classical themes and contemporary interpretations of authority. How does the landscape change when we consider gender in it? Editor: You’ve got a point! This idyll is completely spoiled once the imbalance is brought forward; maybe the ruins echo this broken fantasy, once perfect, but now spoiled by the demand to relinquish Ulysses? Curator: In closing, Valck presents not only a story of mythological events but invites us to engage critically with depictions of power. Editor: Indeed—makes you wonder how different things could be if Calypso got to tell her version. It’s those silent spaces in artworks that scream the loudest!