''The Cyclops'' (''Le Cyclope'' in French) is a painting by Odilon Redon that depicts the myth of the love of

Polyphemus Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and leg ...

for the naiad Galatea. It was painted in oils on board, then mounted on wood, and is now in the

Kröller-Müller Museum The Kröller-Müller Museum () is a national art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands. The museum, founded by art collector Helene Kröller-Müller within the extensive grounds of ...

in the Netherlands. The painting has been variously dated between 1898 and 1914.

The painting

Galatea is shown asleep on the lower right, her naked body blending into the flowery hill slope. In the upper half of the painting, the head and shoulders of Polyphemus tower above a mountain ridge as he turns his one eye in the naiad's direction. It appears Polyphemus has hidden himself from the nymph behind the rocky terrain, too shy to directly confront her "helpless" form. Although the name given the painting refers to the figure of Classical myth, the subject may also carry overtones of the one-eyed giants that populate the folklore of the

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

region where Redon grew up.Stephen F. Eisenman, ''The Temptation of Saint Redon'', University of Chicago 1992
p. 118
/ref>

The painting

Notes

Further reading