Lovis Corinth (1858–1925), a German painter, became a living legend. He was one of the most successful and influential artists in East Prussia as well as the author of books and articles on graphic art. As mentioned in Corinth’s autobiography, his works were snapped up right off the easel.

Lovis Corinth was born to a peasant family in the town of Tapiau. He studied in Königsberg and later on left for Munich, Antwerp, Paris and Berlin to develop his skills. The artist made his name by painting energetic expressionist landscapes and soulful portraits. He had the gift to feel models and represent them in exquisite detail by means of artistic tools.

Odysseus and Nausicaa artwork dates back to the late period of Lovis Corinth’s creativity. It was created in 1918, the year of the artist’s 60th anniversary. Corinth applied lithography technique, which was a tool to copy an image from a zinc or an aluminum plate. The picture itself was drawn with a special lithographic crayon or ink.

According to the plot Athene the goddess appeared to Princess Nausicaa blessed with beauty by the Graces in the shape of the girl’s friend. Athene sent the princess to the sea to wash her bridalwear. After finishing the work the princess and her maids started playing the ball and woke up Odysseus who had survived a shipwreck. The girls were scared by the hero’s nakedness and gruesome appearance. Nausicaa was the only one who stayed calm and reasonable – the princess gave Odysseus some food and clothes and led him to the king’s palace. Later on she helped the hero to get back to his homeland of Ithaca. Remember me at times … since it is to me that you owe your life, she said when parting with Odysseus.

Many masters have addressed this ancient myth – from Pieter Lastman, a Dutch painter of the XVII century, to Russian artist Valentin Serov. The majority of them tried to artistically reproduce Homer’s myth most closely to the original. In contrast, Corinth suggested its more universal and contemporized version.

The central part of his artwork represents Nausicaa surrounded by her maids. However, she has no regal attributes. Also unlike the artists of the past romanticizing this plot, Lovis Corinth pictured some mules instead of horses and a peasant cart instead of a chariot. That was the way to bring the ancient plot closer to modern times.