After Paolo Veronese (Italian, 1528-1588)
The Rape of Europa

oil on canvas

Dimensions: 95 x 130 cm. (37 3/8 x 51 1/4 in.)

After the original painting executed about 1570, now held in the National Gallery Collection, London.

In Roman mythology, the princess Europa was kidnapped from the shores of Tyre by the god Jupiter, who had taken the form of a bull. In the foreground, she is shown climbing onto the animal, which begins to carry her off toward the sea in the lower left of the scene. Playful cupids toss fruit from the trees, while the lovestruck bull eagerly licks Europa’s foot.