Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2015.

Telemachus Returning to Penelope

Artist Angelika Kauffmann (Swiss, 1741 - 1807)

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)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.665

Terms

Mythology

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

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