Brussels, circa 1729-1745, by Urbanus Leyniers, 1674-1747, after designs by Jan van Orley, 1665-1735 and Augustin Coppens, 1668-1740, depicting the arrival of Telemachus (at right, wearing a helmet) at Cythera on the island of Cyprus, group of women guide him to make an offering at Venus’ temple on the left, figures converse in the foreground and surround the temple, frame style border with acanthus and stick motif, signed with Brussels mark and “V.LEYNIERS D. L.” at lower right of scene, inside frame, 174-1/2 x 58 in.

Provenance: Acquired by Henry Symons of New York, NY; 1922; Purchased from Henry Symons by French & Co., New York; 1927; Purchased from French & Co. by William Randolph Hearst; 1951; Inherited from William Randolph Hearst by the Hearst Foundation, Inc., New York; 1954; Gift of the Hearst Foundation, Inc. to the Brooklyn Museum; Property from the Brooklyn Museum.

Exhibition History: Brooklyn Museum, entrance hall display, June 15, 1954.

Publication History:
Devree, Howard, About Art and Artists; Brooklyn Museum Displays 2 Tapestries Presented by Hearst Foundation, New York Times, June 16, 1954: 29.
“Curatorial Departments: Department of Decorative Arts.” Brooklyn Museum Annual Report (1953-1954): 19.
Cavallo, Adolf S. Scenes from the History of Telemachus, Brooklyn Museum Bulletin 17, no. 3 (Spring 1956): 8-12.
Telemachus arrives at temple of Venus (Aphrodite) at Cythera, on island of Cyprus, c. 1724-1728, Study Photographs of Tapestries, catalogued by Adolph S. Cavallo and Thomas P. Campbell, 1914-1995. Getty Research Institute 97.P.7. Original DB ID 1734.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/97p7_306491.
Brosens, Koenraad. A Contextual Study of Brussels Tapestry, 1670-1770: The Dye Works and Tapestry Workshop of Urbanus Leyniers (1674-1747). Brussels: Paleis der Academien, 2004, p. 102-103, 108-109, 169.
Brosens, Koenraad. European Tapestries in the Art Institute of Chicago, edited by Christa C. Mayer Thurman. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2008. p. 327 (note 16).