Telemachus and Calypso

Benjamin West

National Gallery of Art

This painting depicts a coastal scene with a large group of people with light skin dressed in draping fabric in shades of red, yellow, blue, and purple. In the bottom left corner, two men, one old and one young, stand in front of a dark, stormy sea, upon which a large ship is tilting dramatically to one side near large, rocky cliffs. The sky above the ship is full of dark clouds, with streaks of bright yellow surrounded by magenta breaking through the gray. The men face the right, and the young man has his hand outstretched towards a group of women in a grassy meadow dotted with small flowers. One woman at the front of the group faces the men, her arm outstretched towards them. Three women sit at her feet, and a group of five women cluster behind her, hugging one another tightly. On the right, four more women dance in a group, their arms upraised and knees bent. Behind the meadow are tall, olive-green trees.