The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis

The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis is a painting from 1818 by Jacques-Louis David, now in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.

[1] It depicts Telemachus and Eucharis, two characters in François Fénelon's 1699 novel Les Aventures de Télémaque, inspired by Homer's Odyssey.

According to the art historian Mary Vidal, the work was meant instead to capture the "courtly and heartfelt affection" between the two lovers and to provide "an allegory for life's journey" by showing both Telemachus's yearning and Eucharis's longing for a better understanding of self.

[3] Fénelon's work is said to be inspired by Homer's Odyssey, and the classical tradition informed both the style and subject matter of David's The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis.

Though Love and Psyche focuses much more on sexual desire than longing and emotional connection, it resembles Telemachus and Eucharis in its treatment of the figures and use of bold colors.

The exhibition was intended to last for approximately one week, but Pierre-Guillaume-Jean van Huffel, president of the Ghent academy, asked David for permission to extend the showing.

[8] Mary Vidal has argued that David wished to show Telemachus's "catalytic experience of his own humanity," which is a central theme in Fénelon's story.

[3] Telemachus is faced with a choice between duty and passion in the story, and David's painting, according to Vidal, depicts the pain that he experiences in giving up his youthful desires to stay with Eucharis.

Eucharis expresses a similar sorrow and, in her subtle gesture of touching Telemachus's face, gives the work a sense of romantic intensity.