{"id":744617,"date":"2026-08-21T01:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T01:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/744617\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T01:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T01:18:13","slug":"iconic-turner-painting-inspired-by-the-odyssey-to-go-on-display-in-york-yorkmix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/744617\/","title":{"rendered":"Iconic Turner painting inspired by the Odyssey to go on display in York | YorkMix"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lead wp-block-paragraph\">An iconic painting will be making an epic journey to the north to go on display at York Art Gallery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">J.M.W. Turner\u2019s masterpiece \u2018Ulysses deriding Polyphemus \u2013 Homer\u2019s Odyssey\u2019 has been lent to the gallery by the National Gallery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Homer\u2019s Odyssey making a comeback into popular culture with Christopher Nolan\u2019s recent box office hit, York Art Gallery has timed their programme perfectly by curating their next major exhibition with an \u2018Odyssey wall\u2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The exhibition, titled Turner, Wedgwood &amp; Beyond: Inspired by Flaxman, opens on Friday 18 September and reflects on the life and legacy of York-born artist, John Flaxman (1755 \u20131826).<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marking 200 years since Flaxman\u2019s death, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorkmix.com\/york-gallery-announce-new-major-exhibition-that-features-turner-and-blake\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">York Art Gallery recently revealed plans to showcase a remarkable range of works<\/a>, both by Flaxman himself, and by some of the artists he inspired. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flaxman garnered significant international attention in the eighteenth century after producing illustrations for several ancient Greek classics, including the Odyssey. As a sculptor, illustrator, and designer who worked on paper, in ceramic, precious metal, plaster and stone, Flaxman was unrivalled in his lifetime for the range and reach of his work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turner\u2019s depiction of Odysseus\u2019s defeat of the one-eyed giant Polyphemus will take centre stage in the exhibition. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u2018Odyssey wall\u2019 also presents Flaxman\u2019s drawings of scenes from Homer\u2019s epic poem, lent by the Royal Academy of Arts, and Angelica Kauffman\u2019s \u2018Ulysses on the Island of Circe\u2019 (from a private collection).<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also featured nearby will be a rare, silver-gilt Shield of Achilles \u2013 one of only five in the world \u2013 on loan from Koopman Rare Art, designed by Flaxman. This visual representation of Homer\u2019s description of the Greek hero\u2019s armour will be displayed alongside a 4th-century BCE \u2018Bell krater\u2019 from York Art Gallery\u2019s collection.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the first major exhibition dedicated to Flaxman in York, and is supported and produced in partnership with the University of York\u2019s History of Art Department.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yorkartgallery.org.uk\/exhibition\/turner-wedgwood-and-beyond-inspired-by-flaxman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Tickets for the opening of this exhibition are on sale now here.<\/a> Turner, Wedgwood &amp; Beyond: Inspired by Flaxman will run from 18 September 2026 to 17 January 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An iconic painting will be making an epic journey to the north to go on display at York&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709990,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-744617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}