Angelica Kauffmann "Telemachus and the Nymphs of Calypso" (1782)
This gorgeous painting was actually inspired by a 17th century didactic novel called "Les Aventures de Télémaque" (The Adventures of Telemachus) first published anonymously in 1699 but later recognized being the work of François Fénelon. In this book Telemachus guided by Athena/Minerva in the form of Mentor, sets off on a trip and during that trip he washes off to the isle inhabited by Calypso and her nymphs
Angelika Kauffmann seems to show the image where Telemachus is being greeted and taken care of by the nymphs while Mentor/Athena is being led away by one of them!
I mean...look at that face!
Bro looks like he is in Heaven right now! Hahaha being given fruit and wine and being decorated with flowers!
And the nymphs being like
"Well, well, well...ain't that younger and handsomer than the previous one?"
This nymph being like
"Now come on, clear the path for us, we don't have all day! I wanna join that handsome young man too!"
Actually prompts if that isn't a nymph but Calypso herself, because in the book by Fénelon she actually develops a crush on Telemachus (I mean if that handsome little devil is a carbon copy of his father just younger and more handsome, well I can see why! I mean she was heartbroken that Odysseus left so...)
To be honest I think is more plausible for her being Calypso because she has richer garments and she is wearing a veil and all so maybe that is supposed to be Calypso even if I see the description saying this is a nymph but I will leave a window open that maybe just maybe that is Calypso? Not sure if it was explained by the artist herself.
And Athena being like:
"That kid is gonna be eaten alive unless I do something about it!"
So yeah long story short we have a marvelous example of 18th century fanart of a late 17th century fanfiction basically! Hahahaha
And yes the novel is actually following the logic of the Odyssey up to one point but ironically it starts with Calypso. Calypso is depressed after Odysseus left and she cries, cursing her immortality that she has to suffer forever the loss of the man she loved, she no longer sings or moves about her grotto etc. Ironically she is also pictured crying alone in the beach looking at the horizon after Odysseus left.
I mean yeah the writer was actually very skillfull at the writing because yeah imagine then see ANOTHER man shipwrecking to your shores that is a carbon copy of the one you love!
So yes she rescues Telemachus and yes she receives him very well and with her Telemachus tells her of his adventures till that point. Calypso is all the more enamored with him and yes goes back to her previous tricks trying to persuade Telemachus to stay with her and make him immortal by her side.
Ironically seems that Telemachus is more his father's son than what Calypso had hoped him to be because apparently he also rejects her. Aphrodite (Venus) had even sent Eros (Cupid) to assist Calypso but their efforts were stopped. In fact Telemachus seemed to develop a crush for one of Calypso's nymphs, Eucharis instead
Calypso was furious and demanded for Telemachus to leave and Mentor to make a boat.
She was also inconsolable and Eros tried to not only make her feel better but also instructed the nymphs to burn the ship. Athena saw that so she pushed Telemachus from a cliff and then jumped after him in the sea so the two would escape and swim towards a ship that was arriving and picked them up
No seriously, Fenelon has written a very potent story there! Lol Also I think Angelika was hoping for this girl being Eucharis
she is the only one that Telemachus makes eye contact with and the only one that seems to look only him so intensely plus her eyes are lowered and she is the one that is not awfully flamboyant. Strikes to me like someone Telemachus would fall for if he is the son of his father.
Mentor pushes Telemachus from the Top of a Rock into the Sea, and casts himself after him.
From Mr. Ozell's 1735 translation of the best Paris and other Editions of The Adventures of Telemachus, the Son of Ulysses by the Archbishop and Duke of Cambray, François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon
"Robert d'Humières" portrait-carte postale et "Bertrand de Fénelon" portraits-cartes postales (1914-15) à l'exposition “Marcel Proust. La Fabrique de l'Oeuvre” de la BnF Mitterrand, décembre 2022.
The Fontaine Saint-Sulpice (also known as the Fontaine de la place Saint-Sulpice or as the Fontaine des Orateurs-Sacré) is a monumental fountain located in Place Saint-Sulpice in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was constructed between 1843 and 1848 by the architect Louis Visconti, who also designed the tomb of Napoleon.
The four figures on the fountain represent four French religious figures of the 17th century famous for their eloquence.
Bossuet, North, statue by Jean-Jacques Feuchère
Fénelon, East, statue by François Lanno
Fléchier, West, statue by Louis Desprez
Massillon, South, statue by Jacques-Auguste Fauginet, completed by Fouquiet after the death of Fauginet.
