The Sorrow of Telemachus
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
32 3/4 x 45 in. (83.2 x 114.3 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Collis P. Huntington, 1900
Accession Number
25.110.187
Tags
Art Historical Context
Angelica Kauffman’s *The Sorrow of Telemachus*1783), an oil on canvas measuring 32¾ x 45 inches, captures a poignant moment from Homer’s *Odyssey*. The scene evokes deep sadness through the figures of Telemachus, son of Odysseus, alongside the nymph Calypso and her attendants. This mythological narrative highlights themes of longing and separation, as Telemachus grapples with his father’s prolonged absence, set against the enchanting yet isolating world of Calypso’s. Kauffman, a leading Neoclassical artist of the late 18th century, was a rare female pioneer in the field, co-founding London’s ...
About the Artist
Angelica Kauffmann · 1741–1807
Swiss painter and etcher, and one of the few women artists of the time working in the Neo-Classical style to specialize in both portraits and subject pictures. Her famous sitters include the family of George III in Britain, Grand-Duke Paul and Prince Nikolay Yusupov in Russia, Stanislav II Poniatowski and Stanislav Kostka Potocki in Poland, Queen Caroline of Naples and Emperor Joseph II of Austria...