DE TERUGKOMST VAN ULYSSES (The Return of Ulysses)

This Dutch wood engraving adapts Homer's Odyssey to mock the political return of Johan Thorbecke to the Dutch parliament. A bearded statesman in classical drapery encounters Penelope at an ornate chair, the scene overlaid with allegorical furnishings—a lamp, cushioned seat—that transform domestic reunion into parliamentary theater. The print belongs to the 19th-century tradition of satirical graphics, from Hogarth through Daumier and German Bilderbogen, where classical allusion lampoons contemporary politicians. Dutch printmakers deployed such learned references to reach educated urban audiences, combining etched detail with narrative wit. Here, the Odyssey parallel suggests both Thorbecke's long absence and the skepticism attending his political reappearance.