Sculpture of the Day: “Penelope with the Bow of Ulysses” by Richard James Wyatt, 1844

Penelope with
the Bow of
Ulysses
Richard James Wyatt
1844
Marble
The Royal Collection

In the early 1840’s, after seeing the monumental and sensitive work of sculptor Richard James Wyatt, Queen Victoria envisioned four, life-size female figures depicting scenes from mythology which she’d planned on displaying in Buckingham Palace. Victoria had been terribly impressed by Wyatt’s skilled sculpting. Wyatt had become well known for his ability to depict the female form in marble—making them so lifelike that viewers often felt the urge to touch the sculptures to see if they were soft.


Queen Victoria commissioned Wyatt to begin on the four figures. He began with a scene of Penelope from Homer’s Odyssey. The sculpture depicts the moment when Penelope asks her suitors to attempt to bend the bow of Odysseus (Ulysses), King of Ithaca—her husband who has gone on a long journey and whose return is uncertain. Penelope explains that the first to be able to bend the bow and shoot an arrow through a series of rings will win her hand. Odysseus himself appears—in disguise—and wins the contest, earning his wife’s love again. Penelope is joined by Ulysses’ dog, Argos, who is the first to recognize his master.

The queen found the finished sculpture to be quite pleasing, and eagerly anticipated the completion of the others. However, other commissions and failing health prevented Wyatt from completing the other three figures. He died in 1850.