Lot 1265 D α

We would like to thank Dr. Petra Tiegel-Hertfelder, Bonn, for confirming the authenticity of this work after examining the original and determining the subject of the picture to be a motif from Homer's “Odyssey”. After his ten-year wandering as a result of the Trojan War, King Odysseus of Ithaca returns to his old homeland. However, his wife Penelope initially does not recognise him, since he was turned into a beggar by the goddess Athena in order to investigate the situation at his court without being identified. The present scene depicts the encounter between Odysseus, dressed as a beggar, and his wife. The young soldier between them is their son Telemachus, to whom Odysseus had previously revealed himself and who now mediates between the spouses. Behind Penelope stands the old maid Eurycleia, who was the only one to recognise Odysseus initially - apart from his old dog.