Ulysses Winning the Archery Contest in the Presence of Penelope's Suitors

This finished drawing is a preparatory study for the 39th of the 60 frescos about the adventures of Ulysses which were painted at the Galerie d'Ulysse at Fontainebleau Palace in France.

The drawing fulfilled both a practical function, providing instructions to Primaticcio's assistants and an aesthetic role as an art object.

Primaticcio's skill as a draughtsman and the beauty of this drawing attracted many artists and art collectors. This work was owned both by the painter Joshua Reynolds (1723 – 1792) and by the Liverpool politican William Roscoe (1753 – 1831). The hero Ulysses is disguised as a beggar. He crouches on the left, ready to shoot an arrow through a series of rings placed on the floor, although his bow has not been drawn.