A cassone was a large, lavishly decorated chest of a kind made in Italy from the 14th century to the end of the 16th century. Wealthy households needed many chests for clothes and other valuables. They were usually commissioned in pairs for a newly married couple and were ordered, together with other furnishings, by the groom. Florence was the main centre of production, though they were also produced in Siena. This chest shows an appropriate scene from the epic poem The Odyssey, by the Greek poet Homer. Odysseus [called Ulysses by the Romans] had fought in the ten years war at Troy and this poem describes his wanderings in his attempts to return to his faithful wife Penelope. She was often seen as the prime example of wifely fidelity. Ulysses, because of his continued absence long after the Trojan expedition, was presumed to be dead. Many suitors pursued her, but she repeatedly put them off by saying she had to finish weaving a winding sheet for her father-in-law, but at night she would secretly undo her work. Here Penelope is shown spinning in her house on the left while her husband's ship is finally arriving.
Physical description
Cassone panel painted with a scene from the story of Ulysses and Penelope
Place of Origin
Siena (painted)
Date
ca. 1475 (painted)
Artist/maker
Unknown
Materials and Techniques
tempera on poplar panel
Dimensions
Height: 56 cm (estimate)
Width: 177.8 cm (estimate)
Height: 38.7 cm (painted surface)
Width: 114.3 cm (painted surface)
Dimensions taken from Catalogue of Foreign Paintings, I. Before 1800, C.M. Kauffmann, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1973
Object history note
Purchased, 1860
Descriptive line
Cassone panel painted with a scene from the story of Ulysses and Penelope, Anonymous, Sienese School, about 1475
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Kauffmann, C.M. Catalogue of Foreign Paintings, I. Before 1800. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1973, p. 265, cat. no. 328.
The following is the full text of the entry:
Sienese School, c. 1475
328
CASSONE PANEL: THE RETURN OF ULYSSES
Tempera on poplar
whole panel: 22 X 70 (56 X 177.8)
Painted surface 15 ΒΌ X 45 (38.7 X 114.3)
5792-1860
Penelope is shown spinning in her house on the left while Ulysses' ship is arriving. A comparable scene occurs on a cassone attributed to Matteo di Giovanni (Schubring, 1915, no. 470, pl. cix).
Formerly called Florentine, it was, strangely enough, paired by Schubring with a totally different and much earlier panel (5791-1860; no. 120). Both the style of the painting, in particular the figure of Penelope, and the architectural structure of the panel, with its gilt stucco columns and figures, indicate a Sienese origin. The style of the painting would suggest a date in the first half of the 15th century, but, as the stucco figures are comparable with those, for example, on cassoni of the Francesco di Giorgio workshop (W.68-1925; no. 127) produced in about 1470-75, the painting must also be placed in this period. Such archaism of style is a common feature of cassone paintings in Florence as well as in Siena (see entry on Apollonio di Giovanni).
Condition. The panel has been damaged by worm and the painted surface much rubbed.
Prov. Bought by the Museum in 1860.
Lit. J. H. Pollen, Ancient and modern furniture, 1874, p. 127; P. Schubring, Cassoni, 1915, p. 224, no. 26.
Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1860. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 29
Materials
Tempera; Poplar
Techniques
Painting
Subjects depicted
Ulysses; Penelope
Categories
Marriage; Furniture; Paintings
Collection code
PDP
