Telemachus Returning to Penelope
Artist
Angelika Kauffmann
(Swiss, 1741 - 1807)
CultureSwiss
Dateca. 1770-1780
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions38 × 48 1/4 in. (96.5 × 122.6 cm)
Overall, Frame: 53 3/4 × 64 1/4 × 5 1/2 in. (136.5 × 163.2 × 14 cm)
Overall, Frame: 53 3/4 × 64 1/4 × 5 1/2 in. (136.5 × 163.2 × 14 cm)
InscribedLabel on reverse, upper left: "From the collection of the Countess Fitzwilliam/Houghton Hall/Sancton York. Purchased from the Hon. Charles Sourton from a friend in France, at the time of the Revolution."
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.665
Collections
Not on view
DescriptionPenelope greats her young son Telemachus who has just arrived from home from his search for his father, Odysseus. Other women and two dogs are also in the scene.Label TextAngelica Kauffman Swiss, 1741−1807 Telemachus Returning to Penelope, ca. 1770−1780 Oil on canvas Chrysler sought out superb large-scale figurative works for his public museum collection and happily included works by women artists in several different areas. Angelica Kauffman was one of the most celebrated, accomplished, and successful artists of her day. Born in Switzerland, she moved to Rome and then London, and was devoted to subjects from Greek poetry and mythology in a neoclassical style of painting. She chose subjects, however, that reflected a woman’s point of view. Here she shows Penelope welcoming her young son Telemachus home from his long yet ultimately successful journey in search of his father, Odysseus. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.665 ProvenanceFrom the collection of the Countess Fitzwilliam/Houghton Hall/ Sanction York. Purchased from the Hon. Charles Stourton from a friend in France at the time of the Revolution.Exhibition History"Thomas Jefferson, Architect: Palladian Models, Democratic Principles, and the Conflict of Ideals," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 19, 2019 - January 19, 2020. "Making Her Mark: A History of Women Artists in Europe, 1400-1800,” Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, October 1, 2023 - January 7, 2024; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, March 30 – July 1, 2024.Published ReferencesAngela Rosenthal, _Angelica Kauffman: Art and Sensibility_ (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006), 19, 30 & 34. David H. Solkin, _Art in Britain, 1660-1815_ (New Haven: Yale University Press with Pelican History of Art and Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 2015) 166, 231. Paris A. Spies-Gans, _A Revolution on Canvas: The Rise of Women Artists in Britain and France, 1760-1830_ (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2022) 126, fig. 52. Andaleeb Badiee Banta and Alexa Greist, eds., _Making Her Mark: A History of Women Artists in Europe, 1400-1800_ (Toronto: Goose Lane Editions with Art Gallery of Ontario and Baltimore Museum of Art, 2023) 201, cat. no. 91.
