The Rape of Europa Veronese (Paolo Cagliari) (1528-1588)

Description of Paolo Veronese’s painting The Abduction of Europe

Looking at a painting by Paolo Veronese. Which has the rather famous and symbolic title The Abduction of Europe, immediately brings back memories of the myths of ancient Greece, the unrivaled beauty of young Europe and the persistence of the amorous Zeus. The canvas itself is quite large-scale: it reaches a width of 3 meters and a height of 2.5 meters. The work was done in the technique of oil.

Want to note immediately that the motif of the love of Zeus and Europe treated a lot of talented artists. Each of them tried to look at the story in some new way, to bring something individual, exceptional, so that the viewer believed it. Paolo Veronese did the same.

The picture depicts the story of the daughter of the Phoenician king by the name of Europe. Her beauty was admired far beyond the country, and the main god of Olympus could not help reacting to it, because, as we know, he was fond of beautiful girls. Zeus decides to steal Europa and take her with him. But how to do this without showing himself? Zeus comes to the girl in the form of a bull and carries her far into the steppe. It is this moment captured by the author of the painting on the canvas. It is worth noting that this love resulted in such mythical creatures as King Minos, Radamante and Sarpedon.

When analyzing the painting, you immediately pay attention to the rather detailed and complex composition. The author has managed almost the impossible: on such a large canvas he has drawn every character of the event in detail, without missing any of them. But the main action takes place in the left part of the canvas. Exactly here we see Europe sitting on the mighty bull’s back and he is ready to run away with her wherever she wants. The bull is only held back by Europe’s friends, but this only lasts for a few moments.

Thanks to the use of bright colors and saturated colors, the picture looks lively and ultra-realistic.