The Rape of Europa
Sébastien Bourdon (Montpellier 1616 – Paris 1671)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1634 - 1637
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1524 x 1905 mm (60 x 75 in)
Place of origin
France
Order this imageCollection
Kingston Lacy Estate, Dorset
NT 1257125
Caption
The god Jupiter has disguised himself as a docile white bull. According to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, having fallen in love with Europa, daughter of Agenor, the king of Tyre, and in order to have her for himself, Jupiter comes to the seashore where she is gathering flowers. She is attended by putti, who pull the garlands around the bull’s horns and her maidservants, who unwittingly aid him by helping her mount his back.. He bears her across the sea to Crete, where resuming human form, he then ravishes her. The painting is a pair with Bourdon’s The Judgment of Midas and has been in the Bankes’ collection since 1658/9. It is an early work by the artist and was probably painted while he was still staying in Rome between 1634-37.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Rape of Europa, by Sébastien Bourdon (Montpellier 1616 – Paris 1671), 1634 -37. The traditional title of this picture, and of others like it is a little misleading: Jupiter fell in love with Europa, daughter of the King of Tyre, and in order to abduct her, he turned into a docile white bull. Once he had lulled her into mounting his back, he bore her across the sea to Crete, where resuming human form, he did rape her.
Provenance
acquired by (Sir) Ralph Bankes between 1658 and 1659 (with its pendant, The Judgement of Midas); bequeathed by Ralph Bankes, 1981
Makers and roles
Sébastien Bourdon (Montpellier 1616 – Paris 1671), artist