The Return of Telemachus to Penelope
Antonio Zucchi, RA (Venice 1726 - Rome 1796)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1773
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1010x 860 mm
Order this imageCollection
Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire
NT 960077.5
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Return of Telemachus to Penelope by Antonio Zucchi, RA (Venice 1726 – Rome 1796), 1773. Previously called Angelica and Medoro: Angelica welcoming Medoro at the Threshold of a Palace this is in fact a classical scene from Homer's Odyssey, Book 17, showing columns and two maidservants behind Penelope and her son, Telemachus, accompanied by greyhounds, one being Odysseus's favourite, Argos. One of a set of six overdoor paintings by Antonio Zucchi, previously attributed to Angelica Kauffman.
Provenance
Commissioned from Antonio Zucchi by Sir Rowland Winn, 5th Bt (1739-1785); sent to Nostell Priory circa 1773; thence by descent; accepted in lieu of tax by HM Treasury and transferred to the National Trust in 1986.
Credit line
Nostell Priory, The St Oswald Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Antonio Zucchi, RA (Venice 1726 - Rome 1796), artist Thomas Chippendale (Otley 1718 - London 1779) , framemaker
References
Sands 2011: Frances Sands, 'The Art of Collaboration: Antonio Zucchi at Nostell Priory', The Georgian Group Journal, vol.XIX, 2011, pp.106-119