Telemachus and Eucharis

**Conservation of this picture was made possible by a generous contribution from Paula Vesely and gifts in memory of Carol Joyce, docent class of 2009** Shipwrecked on a Greek isle, Telemachus (center), son of Odysseus, and Eucharis (left), a nymph on the island, fell in love. Monvoisin's painting depicts the young lovers bidding farewell. Athena intervened to make this happen, disguising herself as Telemachus's guardian Mentor (right) and forcing the young man to abandon his beloved to search for his lost father. The scene comes from François Fénelon's 1699 novel Les Aventures de Télémaque (The Adventures of Telemachus), inspired by characters in Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Commissioned by the future king of France, Louis-Philippe (reign 1830–48), the painting was executed by Monvoisin in Rome (note the city is inscribed next to the artist’s signature). Monvoisin spent five years in Italy (1820–25) after being awarded second place in the French Academy's prestigious Prix de Rome. The painting was exhibited at the 1827 Paris Salon, where Louis Philippe, then the duc d'Orléans, was listed as the lender.