"The Odyssey" by Ülo Sooster
Christopher Nolan’s film “The Odyssey” is enjoying phenomenal success. Records are being set for both viewership and box-office revenue. The film is being debated by audiences and professional critics alike, across languages and continents.
What remains beyond dispute is that Homer’s epic poem has stirred, continues to stir, and will continue to stir people of art in every age.
In the 20th century, the artists who illustrated The Odyssey included Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Hans Erni, and André Masson. It is known that they created their celebrated graphic cycles later in life: Matisse and Erni after the age of 60, Chagall and Masson after the age of 80.
Ülo Sooster was about 35 when he began making illustrations for Homer’s poems. The book never came to light. Why? We do not know. What matters most is that the drawings have survived…
In the photo: Ülo Sooster’s drawings “Aphrodite”(?), “Odysseus”(?), “Zeus and Athena”(?)