Safe Passage

Depicted at far left is Ares the mythological god of war, a figure from Peter Paul Rubens’ ‘Council of the Gods’ (c.1602), among other ‘gods’ upon which the artist has painted his likeness [center]. Defending himself against the potential onslaught of these large figures is a miniature Odysseus (Ulysses), from Homer, and taken from Henry Fuseli’s Painting ‘Odysseus between Scylla and Charybdis’ (c.1795). The composition, which includes references to Anthony van Dyck’s ‘Christ Carrying the Cross,’ (c.1618) is meant to symbolize the battle between the artist and the artwork.