Also in 1836 Etty began work on The Sirens and Ulysses, which he considered among his greatest works, and which is his largest surviving painting.
Measuring 442.5 cm by 297 cm (14 ft 6 in by 9 ft 9 in) Sirens was based on a passage from Homer's Odyssey in which sailors resist the irresistible song of the Sirens.
The theme and scale of the painting were probably suggested to Etty by Thomas Myers, who had been encouraging Etty to paint very large canvases.
Myers's suggested theme appealed to Etty, who later wrote that it illustrated "the importance of resisting Sensual Delights".
Etty made every effort to ensure realism in the picture, going as far as to visit mortuaries to sketch corpses in varying stages of decay to ensure the accuracy of the cadavers on the beach.

When Etty completed Sirens in 1837, it was one of the main attractions at the 1837 Summer Exhibition, the first to be held in the Royal Academy's new building in Trafalgar Square (now part of the National Gallery).
The painting, with its juxtaposition of male and female nudity and decaying corpses, immediately divided opinion.
Some critics considered it one of the finest artworks ever made, with The Gentleman's Magazine particularly taken with the work, describing Sirens as "a historical work of the first class" and "by far the best that Mr. Etty ever painted".
Other critics were less kind; The Spectator considered it "a disgusting combination of voluptuousness and loathsome putridity—glowing in colour and wonderful in execution, but conceived in the worst possible taste".

Possibly because of its size, The Sirens and Ulysses failed to sell at the Summer Exhibition.
In October 1837 Etty met again with Daniel Grant who, without having seen the painting, offered £250 (about £23,000 in today's terms) for Sirens and for Samson and Delilah, also exhibited by Etty that year.
Etty, poor at business and always reluctant to keep unsold paintings in his studio, sold both paintings to Grant for well below their true worth.
Etty had used a strong glue as a paint stabiliser which flaked when dry, and as soon as it was complete Sirens began to deteriorate.
It was shown at the 1857 Art Treasures Exhibition but then considered in too poor a condition for further public display, and placed in long-term storage in the archives of the Royal Manchester Institution and its successor, the Manchester Art Gallery.
In 2006 restoration began on it, and in May 2010 Sirens was returned to public display and is now one of the key works in the Manchester Art Gallery.
Also in 1836 Etty began work on The Sirens and Ulysses, which he considered among his greatest works, and which is his largest surviving painting. Measuring 442.5 cm by 297 cm (14 ft 6 in by 9 ft 9 in) Sirens was based on a passage from Homer's Odyssey in which sailors resist the irresistible song of the Sirens. The theme and scale of the painting were probably suggested to Etty by Thomas Myers, who had been encouraging Etty to paint very large canvases. Myers's suggested theme appealed to Etty, who later wrote that it illustrated "the importance of resisting Sensual Delights". Etty made every effort to ensure realism in the picture, going as far as to visit mortuaries to sketch corpses in varying stages of decay to ensure the accuracy of the cadavers on the beach.
When Etty completed Sirens in 1837, it was one of the main attractions at the 1837 Summer Exhibition, the first to be held in the Royal Academy's new building in Trafalgar Square (now part of the National Gallery). The painting, with its juxtaposition of male and female nudity and decaying corpses, immediately divided opinion. Some critics considered it one of the finest artworks ever made, with The Gentleman's Magazine particularly taken with the work, describing Sirens as "a historical work of the first class" and "by far the best that Mr. Etty ever painted". Other critics were less kind; The Spectator considered it "a disgusting combination of voluptuousness and loathsome putridity—glowing in colour and wonderful in execution, but conceived in the worst possible taste".
Possibly because of its size, The Sirens and Ulysses failed to sell at the Summer Exhibition. In October 1837 Etty met again with Daniel Grant who, without having seen the painting, offered £250 (about £23,000 in today's terms) for Sirens and for Samson and Delilah, also exhibited by Etty that year. Etty, poor at business and always reluctant to keep unsold paintings in his studio, sold both paintings to Grant for well below their true worth. Etty had used a strong glue as a paint stabiliser which flaked when dry, and as soon as it was complete Sirens began to deteriorate. It was shown at the 1857 Art Treasures Exhibition but then considered in too poor a condition for further public display, and placed in long-term storage in the archives of the Royal Manchester Institution and its successor, the Manchester Art Gallery. In 2006 restoration began on it, and in May 2010 Sirens was returned to public display and is now one of the key works in the Manchester Art Gallery.
William Etty