INTO THE TIME OF HOMER

From James Joyce’s Ulysses to Rubens’ brutal

Achilles, and from Cavafy’s “Ithaka” to the

Cohen brothers’ references to the Homeric symposium,

it is evident that Homer’s epic poems,

these archetypes of global mytho-history, have

impregnated Western thought and art in every

one of its guises. The heroes of the Iliad and the

Odyssey continues to play a prominent part in

our everyday discussions, to become the protagonists

of children’s games, to inspire graphic

novels, to be amplified via folklore, and to inspire

artists’ imagination, establishing a framework for

contemporary narratives in fiction.

Louvre-Lens

exhibition “Homer” looks at the myriad of echoes

of Homer’s words in artistic and literary production,

delving deep into the mysteries of the

life and work of the seminal poet – What did

he look like? When was he born? What was his

ancestry?

From Gustave Moreau and Andr. Derain

to Marc Chagall and Cy Twombly, more than

250 works – sculpture, vases, tapestry, paintings

– shine the spotlight on myriad aspects of the

Homeric question from antiquity through to our

days. Attending this impressive exhibition, it becomes

apparent that the spirit of Homer cannot

just be found in the evocative immortalizations

of scenes from his epics but lives on in abstract,

iconoclastic artwork and extends far beyond the

Arts to our contemporary life – from decorative

motifs on everyday objects to philosophy, political

discourse and fashion.

*Until 22/07, www.louvrelens.fr