Ulysses and Penelope

This painting is an oil version - probably by Primaticcio himself of a panel decorating the Galerie d’Ulysse in Fontainebleau. The complex decorative scheme of the gallery of immense length took many years to complete. The walls were decorated with a series of paintings illustrating the story of Ulysses.

A striking feature of this composition is the group of small figures in conversation in the background., their lean silhouettes forming with the foreground group a contrast which in its dramatic quality recalls Rosso.