Sirenes - Pl. VII from the "L'Odyssee" portfolio

Andre Masson

The Sirens are creatures in Greek mythology which lured sailors to their deaths by their beautiful singing of promises of wisdom and precognition. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus follows the counsel of Circe and is successful in keeping himself and his crew from danger as they pass the island of the Sirens on their voyage home from the Trojan War. He instructed his crew to plug their ears with beeswax and secure him to the mast. Odysseus is lured by the Sirens and begs to be released but his crew bound him tighter. Images of Odysseus often show him bound to the mast of his ship but Masson’s interpretation places the bound Odysseus in the center of a seemingly swirling blue ocean. Sinuous white lines create three floating Sirens and a face at the top of the image suggests a crew member. From Masson’s imagery, it is difficult to imagine that Odysseus would actually triumph.