Return of the Argonauts

The Return of the Argonauts is one of Volanakis's most mythologically charged subjects, connecting the Greek painter's deep knowledge of maritime life with the ancient heroic narrative that Greeks of his era considered foundational to their national identity. The Argonaut myth — Jason's voyage to Colchis, the theft of the Golden Fleece, the return across perilous seas — was set in waters that Volanakis knew intimately, particularly the Pagasetic Gulf near Volos where the Argo traditionally departed. By painting the return rather than the departure, Volanakis captures the moment of arrival, of completion, of the heroic crew bringing their prize home. This subject allowed him to combine his mastery of ships under sail with the elevated associations of mythological painting, demonstrating that marine painting could aspire to history painting's prestige. The mythological subject also invited him to imagine vessels — the Argo itself — for which no models existed, requiring the painter to imagine an ancient ship that was plausibly classical while remaining visually compelling as a vessel under sail.

The mythological subject requires a vessel type distinguishable from Volanakis's usual contemporary ships — the Argo should read as ancient and heroic rather than nineteenth-century Greek. He would likely draw on classical representations of ancient ships, perhaps giving the vessel oars alongside sails, and surrounding it with a sea rendered with more dramatic energy than his harbor scenes. The returning crew provides figure interest that his purely nautical compositions typically lack.