Artwork
Nausikaa bringer den skibbrudne Odysseus klæder
Nausikaa bringer den skibbrudne Odysseus klæder is an oil painting by Wilhelm Marstrand. It dates from 1835 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Wilhelm Marstrand's 1835 canvas stages this moment of encounter and aid, framing the mythological narrative as the central subject of the work.
The painting illustrates a scene drawn from Homer's Odyssey, in which the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa encounters the shipwrecked hero Odysseus on the shore and provides him with clothing. Wilhelm Marstrand's 1835 canvas stages this moment of encounter and aid, framing the mythological narrative as the central subject of the work. Genre classification as a mythological painting underscores the literary origin of the scene, while the named figures Nausicaa and Odysseus are explicitly identified as the subjects depicted.
The act of bringing garments to the stranded wanderer carries symbolic weight: it marks the transition of Odysseus from naked, vulnerable castaway to restored social being, and signals Nausicaa's role as compassionate hostess whose intervention sets in motion the hero's eventual return to Ithaca.
Technique & Style
Nausikaa bringer den skibbrudne Odysseus klæder is executed in oil paint on canvas, a traditional combination well suited to Marstrand's narrative handling of mythological subjects. The canvas measures 106.0 cm in height by 85.0 cm in width, giving the composition a vertical, portrait-like orientation that supports the figure-driven scene of Nausicaa presenting clothes to the shipwrecked Odysseus.
As a mythological painting, the work belongs to the genre of history painting, and the oil medium allows for the layered modeling and tonal range characteristic of Marstrand's academic training. The support is a standard stretched canvas, and the work is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
History & Provenance
Nausikaa bringer den skibbrudne Odysseus klæder was created by Wilhelm Marstrand in 1835, executed in oil paint on canvas. The work depicts the mythological encounter between Nausicaa and Odysseus. It is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, which is also its current location.
The sources do not provide further details on a commission, intermediate ownership, or earlier provenance prior to its entry into the national collection.
The painting measures 1060 mm in height and 850 mm in width.
Overview
Wilhelm Marstrand’s 1835 oil painting, Nausikaa bringer den skibbrudne Odysseus klæder, belongs to Denmark’s Golden Age of painting and is held by the Statens Museum for Kunst. The work portrays a moment from Homer’s Odyssey in which the princess Nausicaa supplies garments to the shipwrecked hero Odysseus.
Context
Marstrand, known for both genre scenes and literary illustrations, frequently turned to classical sources for inspiration. This work aligns with a broader European fascination in the early 1800s with antiquity, where artists rendered mythological subjects with a contemporary, academic approach.
Artist & collection
Artist
Nicolai Wilhelm Marstrand (24 December 1810 – 25 March 1873), painter and illustrator, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to Nicolai Jacob Marstrand, instrument maker and inventor, and Petra Othilia Smith.
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