Plate from Telemachus
c. 1797
Medium
Engraving on paper
Dimensions
2.7 × 5 cm (1 1/8 × 2 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
131616
Art Historical Context
Discover the delicate charm of *Plate from Telemachus* by Thomas Stothard, a gem from around 1797 housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings. Stothard, a leading British artist of the Romantic era, was for his elegant illustrations inspired by classical literature. This engraving draws from François Fénelon's 18th-century novel *Lesventures de Télémaque a moralistic retelling of Homer's Odyssey following Telemachus's quest for father, Odysseus. At just 2.7 × 5 cm, it captures the era's fascination with antiquity, blending neoclassical grace with emerging Romantic sentiment. ...
About the Artist
Thomas Stothard · 1755–1834
Thomas Stothard RA (1755–1834) was born on 17 August 1755 at the Black Horse Inn in London's Long Acre, the son of a prosperous publican originally from Stutton near Tadcaster. A delicate child, he was sent at age five to relatives in Yorkshire, attending schools in Acomb, Tadcaster, and later Ilford, Essex, where he honed his drawing skills by copying prints. Following his father's death in 1770,...