the farewell of telemachus and eucharis by jacques-louis david

Fixing the viewer with a dreamy gaze, the fair-haired

Telemachus grasps Eucharis's thigh with his right hand while

holding his sword upright with the other. In the 1699 French

novel Les Aventures de T??aque, loosely based on characters

from the Odyssey, the author F?elon describes how

Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, fell passionately in love with the beautiful nymph Eucharis. His duty as a son, however,

required that he end their romance and depart in search of his missing father.

The ill-fated lovers say farewell in a grotto on Calypso's island. Facing towards us, Telemachus's blue tunic falls open to

reveal his naked torso. Eucharis, seen in profile, encircles

Telemachus's neck and gently rests her head upon his

shoulder in resignation. In this way, Jacques-Louis David

contrasts masculine rectitude with female emotion.