“The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis” by Jacques-Louis David
This painting is an oil on canvas. It was painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1818. It is depicting a couple from Fénelon's novel, “Les Aventures de Télémaque,” which was inspired by Homer's “Odyssey.” This painting was about a young mythological couple who were madly in love with each other. Telemachus, the son of Penelope and Odysseus, and Eucharis a daughter to the goddess Calypso were so strongly in love with each other, that they were absolutely devastated when the lover’s learned that they were going to be torn apart. The viewer sees Eucharis draping over Telemachus before he leaves to find his father. Telemachus and Eucharis both look very saddened that Telemachus had to leave.
“Portrait of the Sisters Zénaïde and Charlotte Bonaparte” by Jacques-Louis David
This painting was also an oil on canvas and was also painted by the same artist listed above. It was painted in 1821 in France, depicting two sisters, Zénaïde and Charlotte Bonaparte, who are the nieces to Napoleon. The sisters are reading a letter from their father, Joseph Bonaparte, who was exiled in the United States when they had previously lived in Belgium. Jacques-Louis David painted the two sisters in a way that displayed both their different ages and personalities. The oldest sister, wearing a black v-shaped dress, is staring at the viewer and has a protective looking demeanor towards her younger sister. The younger sister, wearing a more
Odysseus’ and Telemachus’ journeys or nostos were both very similar and different. They parallel each other in some ways but they are also completely different at other times. Telemachus starts as a younger, less mature boy, and without the presence of his father during his childhood, he becomes a timid, shy and spineless boy who is greatly pampered by his mother. He has even more to achieve, being the son of a world-famous father, and this is a very difficult reputation to live up to. His journey, and after that the killing of the suitors who took advantage of him really show how his journeys and problems throughout the book mature him from being a shy, timid boy into a mature man. Odysseus’ journey also taught him about many things
As previously stated, the piece is a scene from the Trojan war where Aeneas is leading his family away from the flames engulfing the city of Troy. Vouet seems to capture a moment in time when Aeneas is holding his weak father in his arms, in what seems like a hectic environment. Through facial expressions, skin tone, time, and motion, it is obvious that danger is near and approaching. His wife, Creusa, has pale white skin which signifies her death in Troy. In her arms are two figurines that look like gods. In Michael Kochenash’s You Can’t Hear “Aeneas” without Thinking of Rome, it is explained that the gods save him from dying because of what his future holds. In the article it is stated, “The Trojan hero named Aeneas appears in Homer's Iliad; his escape from the Greek destruction of Troy was apparently narrated by Arctinus in the now lost. He is saved from death by the gods twice: once by Aphrodite and Apollo (Il. 5) and once by Poseidon (Il. 20). According to the bard, Aeneas was saved by the gods
The two main characters in the painting display elegant mannered poses and all the figures appear arranged in rather unnatural poses. There is a small scene at the foot of the Saint Catherine and Christ figures. This is thought to be the Christ child with the Virgin Mary and grandmother, Saint Anne. Below these two scenes are three smaller bordered scenes. The central one depicts two enemies reconciled by an archangel and the outer ones show Saints Michael and Margaret fighting demons. All these images show the triumph of good over evil, with the middle characters shedding their weapons and embracing. All these small pictures support that the painting was commissioned by Arigoi di Nero Arighetti to celebrate the end of a feud.
The stories found in Greek mythology are often the subjects of both visual and literary works. The myth of Penelope and Odysseus and their eventful marriage is one such story. Penelope is the daughter of Icarius and Periboea and the wife of Odysseus. Odysseus was sent to fight in the Trojan War the day his son was born. After the war, he angered the gods by not thanking them, so he was lost at sea for ten years after the war while trying to get back to Ithaca. Their son, Telemachus, helps her protect their house from the suitors who are trying to take Odysseus’s throne. In the painting Penelope and the Suitors, John Williams Waterhouse uses the scene where Penelope is being harassed by the suitors to show that she is irritated with the
Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, starts off in the book The Odyssey by Homer as an inexperienced, scared young boy due to the lack of presence of a father figure in his life. After many tough experiences, Telemachus develops into a strong, courageous young man. Athena is the most important character who influenced the growth of Telemachus among many other individuals in the book. She helps Telemachus by teaching him, encouraging him, and also enlightening him of what to do. The powerful goddess with “flashing sea-gray eyes” (Homer 2.476), Athena, has had the greatest influence on Telemachus’ growth.
Homer’s The Odyssey tells the story of young Telemachus with the task of finding his father, Odysseus while also finding himself. As the hero of this journey, Telemachus develops into a noble, brave, and strong man, through complications inflicted by others’ mental endurance. By overcoming these obstacles Telemachus develops into the universally known stereotypical hero. However, the same cannot be said for the heroes of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Lewis Carol’s Alice in Wonderland. At the end of their journeys, Jewel and Alice become different kinds of heroes; instead of becoming a stereotypical plucky adventurer, they each develop different traits to benefit themselves along their journey.
When does a boy become a man? This rite of passage is explored in Robert Fagles ' translation of Homer 's epic poem, The Odyssey. Odysseus (king of Ithaca) fought in the Trojan War for ten years and after the fall of Troy he spent the next ten years trying to get home. He left behind an infant son, Telemachus, and a devoted wife, Penelope. Although they longed for Odysseus ' return, Penelope and Telemachus were the perfect hosts to wayward strangers - even as their estate became overrun with arrogant suitors - men intent on marrying Penelope and taking possession of the throne. Athena, goddess and daughter of Zeus, is instrumental in encouraging Telemachus to begin his journey to adulthood saying, "You must not cling to your boyhood any
A hero can be defined in many different ways, such as a man or woman who performs tasks otherwise not able to be performed by a normal human being. Telemachus is a different breed of hero compared to our modern day Superman and Batman. Telemachus is a leader that is seen by the public eye, and also the son of a king. Being the son of a king has its benefits and also has its downfalls, he is looked to for solutions while his father is gone, but he also has power that others do not have. He learns quickly to use his power for good and not abuse it which is the first step in becoming a great hero and leader. Telemachus goes upon a hero’s journey and undergoes a separation from his mother, Penelope, to find his father, he undergoes an
The famous scene in Homer’s Iliad when Achilles presents the mangled dead body of the Trojan Hector to his lover/cousin Patroclus is one of intense emotion: revenge, despair, and an angrily passionate loss of love. The French artist Jean-Joseph Taillasson presents the scene in the form of a painting (Achilles Displaying the Body of Hector at the Feet of Patroclus, 1769) in an interesting way. At this point in the historical timeline of art Rococo was giving way to a new Classical style. Caught between these two styles this painting manages to aptly and amply achieve both.
The portrait is displayed horizontally with a gold trimmed frame. The subject is a female that looks to be in her early 20’s sitting upright on a large brown chair. If the viewer travels up the painting the first indication of the woman’s class is her satin, blue dress. The saturated blue shines and falls in the light like water. Paired with the dress are her exceptionally detailed endings to her sleeves. The lace is even painted as though it is translucent, allowing a little of the blue dress to show through the sleeve. Flowers throughout history have symbolized innocence of a woman and her virginity. The repeating theme of flowers, in the sleeve cuffs and ribbon) in the woman’s attired suggests her purity or innocent nature. Another very details section of the painting includes the corset/torso details. The sewing suggests texture in the torso with small beading in between. Towards the top of the chest in the center, the female seems to bear an extravagant, ribbon piece with a tear drop bead in the center. The light pink
The art and beauty in this painting is exemplified through the eyes of Boucher. It starts with a beautiful couple taking a rest after picking up some followers. Their clothing looks very elegant and colorful which shows that they are aristocrats. The man’s eyes are gazing at a shepherdess who gathered her own flowers. Their eyes are locked despite the man having his own woman right in front of him. The light brushstrokes of the dresses, flowers, and trees
Peter Paul Rubens’ painting, Prometheus Bound, is a large oil painting on canvas currently on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The painting is approximately sized at eight by seven feet and portrays the Greek Titan Prometheus chained to a cliff as his liver is eaten by an eagle. Rubens captures and allows the viewer to experience the most dramatic and gruesome moment of the myth, when the majestic bird attacks the Titan, by implementing the tenebrism technique, a unique composition and perspective, and symbolism.
The Elder Sister is a painting by a well-known French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau. This work of art was completed by William in 1869. As a result of research made on this painting, it was found that the painting was anonymously given to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston as a gift in 1992. According to the museum, this was a gift of an anonymous lady in memory of her father. Since then this amazing work of art has been a part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine arts, Houston; becoming one of the most notable highlights in the museums painting collection. Its dimensions are 51¼ × 38¼ in (130.2 × 97.2 cm) and the frame is 67½ × 55 × 5½ in (171.5 × 139.7 × 14 cm).
Following the victories of the Greeks invading the Persians at Marathon in 490 B.C. and Salamis in 480 B.C., Athens experienced a period of social optimism and period expansion during the first half of the fifth century B.C. The second half of the fifth century B.C. was also very successful in that Athenians tremendously developed culturally and intellectually. This was the era of Sophocles and a period where everything and anything seemed possible through man effort and reason. Sophocles wrote a trilogy of tragedies, which contained of 3 Theban plays. Oedipus Rex, the first play in the trilogy, was written during a period of political instability and plague. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, many themes such as the quest for identity, the nature of innocence and guilt, and the abuse of power are portrayed and are pivotal for the play to build up to the tragic ending.
Prince Telemachus of Ithaca was living in a world of greed and disrespect during his father's twenty-year hiatus. His father, King Odysseus, had set off to fight along with fellow Greeks in the Trojan War. After the war, all the Greeks who did not perish during the battles had made it back to their homelands, with the exception of Odysseus. During this time suitors had taken over Odysseus' palace and were courting his wife. It was time for Telemachus to take action against the crude suitors and become a mature adult. In "The Odyssey" by Homer, a young prince sets off to learn news about his father. At the same time Telemachus meets influential people who introduce him to a whole new world, which propels him to become a mature and