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Lot Essay
The subject of the present picture is taken from Homer's Odyssey. It depicts the moment when the Greek hero Ulysses, having enjoyed the hospitality of the god of the winds, Aeolus, takes his leave. Aeolus, who had the power to control them, tied up the adverse winds in a leather bag and handed them to Ulysses in order to secure a safe journey for his friend.
In the 1650s Moillon seems to have been heavily influenced by the Second School of Fontainebleau and, in particular, by Ambroise Dubois. The style of the present picture can be compared to the decorative pictures Moillon realized in the 1650s at the châteaux of Saint-Quintin, Rochefort and Ravel (see J. Baticle and J. Wilhelm, Les Peintures d'Isaac Moillon dans les Châteaux d'Auvergne et du Bourbonnais, Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Franais, Paris, 1980).
The unusual square format of the picture would suggest that it may have been intended to be inserted into the wooden panelling of a room.
In the 1650s Moillon seems to have been heavily influenced by the Second School of Fontainebleau and, in particular, by Ambroise Dubois. The style of the present picture can be compared to the decorative pictures Moillon realized in the 1650s at the châteaux of Saint-Quintin, Rochefort and Ravel (see J. Baticle and J. Wilhelm, Les Peintures d'Isaac Moillon dans les Châteaux d'Auvergne et du Bourbonnais, Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Franais, Paris, 1980).
The unusual square format of the picture would suggest that it may have been intended to be inserted into the wooden panelling of a room.