奥德修斯在阿尔喀诺俄斯的宫廷

Hayez was a young man of about 23 when he took this commission in 1814. It came from Naples, where Joachim Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law, was king and wanted a grand canvas for the palace of Capodimonte. By the time Hayez finished, Napoleon's empire had collapsed, Murat had lost his throne and then his life, and the Bourbons were back. The new king, Ferdinand, simply bought the painting for the same royal collection. The subject is Ulysses at the court of the Phaeacians. A bard has been singing of the fall of Troy, not knowing the ragged guest is Ulysses himself, and Hayez shows the hero at the centre pulling his cloak over his face to hide his tears. The canvas runs close to six metres wide.