Paolo Veronese, 'The Rape of Europa', about 1570

The Rape of Europa

Paolo Veronese

Not on display

About the work

Overview

In Roman mythology, the princess Europa was abducted from the coast of Tyre by the god Jupiter, who had transformed himself into a bull. We see her mounting the beast in the foreground and being carried away towards the sea at the lower left. Baby cupids throw fruit from the trees while the amorous bull impatiently licks Europa’s foot.

This picture may be a small version, known as a modello, for a full-sized final painting. It was possibly made before Veronese’s very large canvas of The Rape of Europa now in the Doge’s Palace, Venice.

For most of the twentieth century this picture was not believed to be by Veronese himself, probably because it was obscured by two extremely thick layers of dark varnish. However, when the painting was cleaned in 1999, its technique, materials and colours were found to be typical of Veronese.

In-depth

The story of the Rape of Europa is told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Mercury is ordered by his father, Jupiter, to drive a herd of cattle belonging to King Agenor from their pastures on the mountainside to the seashore of Tyre, where the King’s daughter Europa plays with her companions.

Once this task is complete, Jupiter transforms himself into a young bull, white as snow, with rich folds of skin, shining horns and beguiling eyes. He catches the princess’s attention. At first she is too timid to touch him, so offers him flowers. He kisses her hands, frolics and lies down. She strokes him, hangs garlands on his horns and then mounts his back. He carries her to the edge of the sea and then swims away with her to Crete.

Veronese shows Europa being helped to sit side-saddle on the bull’s back by her ladies. Winged amorini (infant cupids) throw fruit from the trees to the ladies below and Cupid takes the bull by its horn. Europa is partially undressed – her breast is exposed and her yellow mantle lies on the ground – while the bull impatiently licks her toes.

The image is humorous but also unsettling, especially in the bewildered, slightly tearful expression on Europa’s face. Veronese emphasises the initial seduction of the princess rather than her later terror and panic, which was depicted by Titian in his great painting The Rape of Europa, made in 1562 for King Philip II of Spain (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston). Veronese shows the next part of the story in the middle-distance to the left, where the bull carries the princess out to sea, accompanied by Cupid. In the extreme distance, you can just make out the bull wading with Europa to the far-off island of Crete.

We know that for his earliest commissions, Veronese usually first made a small version, known as a modello, in oil paint before starting the full-sized final painting. While this picture was painted later in his career, it could be such a model, as it is smaller than one would expect for a painting made for a gallery. Veronese painted several pictures of the Rape of Europa, but none of them follow this one exactly. One possibility is that was a rehearsal for the contemporary, very large canvas of The Rape of Europa for Veronese’s powerful Venetian patron, Jacopo Contarini (Doge’s Palace, Venice). Alternatively, it could have been made to decorate a piece of furniture, though its proportions are unusual for pictures made for such a purpose. Perhaps it is just a small cabinet picture made for personal enjoyment.

For most of the twentieth century it was not believed to be by Veronese himself, probably because it was obscured by two extremely thick layers of dark varnish. However, when the painting was cleaned in 1999, its technique, materials and colours – all extremely well preserved – were found to be typical of Veronese.

Key facts

Details

Full title: The Rape of Europa
Artist: Paolo Veronese
Artist dates: 1528 - 1588
Date made: about 1570
Medium and support: oil on canvas, mounted on wood
Dimensions: 59.5 × 70 cm
Acquisition credit: Holwell Carr Bequest, 1831
Inventory number: NG97
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Previous owners: Revd William Holwell Carr

Provenance

Perhaps König collection, Prague, about 1580. Rudolf II, Prague. Recorded in the imperial collection in the second decade of the seventeenth century. Among the paintings belonging to Queen Christina in Antwerp in 1656. In the Orléans Collection by 1721. Orléans sale 1798, lot 47, when bought by Willett. Lot 107 in his sale of 2 June 1813, where bought by Holwell Carr. Bequeathed by Holwell Carr in 1831.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Nicholas Penny, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings’, vol. 2, ‘Venice 1540–1600’, London 2008; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2010

Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries

The National Gallery (London)

30 June 2010 - 12 September 2010
2012

I colori della seduzione: Giambattista Tiepolo e Paolo Veronese

Castello di Udine

17 November 2012 - 1 April 2013
2014

Veronese: Magnificence in Renaissance Venice

The National Gallery (London)

19 March 2014 - 15 June 2014

Bibliography

1727

L.D. de Saint-Gelais, Description des tableaux du Palais Royal: Avec la vie des peintres à la tête de leurs ouvrages: Dédiée à Monseigneur le duc d'Orleans, premier prince du sang, Paris 1727
1813

Peter Coxe, Burrell, and Foster, The Catalogue of the Magnificent Gallery of Paintings: The Property of John Willett Willett, Esq.: Which will be Sold by Auction by Peter Coxe & Co… on Monday, the 31st of May, 1813 and Two Following Days, London, 31 May 1813 - 2 June 1813
1834

J. Landseer, A Descriptive, Explanatory, and Critical Catalogue of Fifty of the Earliest Pictures Contained in the National Gallery of Great Britain, London 1834
1838

G.F. Waagen, Works of Art and Artists in England, trans. H. Lloyd, vol. 2, London 1838
1854

G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], vol. 2, trans. E. Eastlake, London 1854
1888

P. Caliari, Paolo Veronese, sua vita e sue opere, Rome 1888
1897

J.O. Granberg, La galerie de tableaux de la reine Christine de Suède, Stockholm 1897
1924

W.G. Constable, 'The Foundation of the National Gallery', The Burlington Magazine, XLIV/253, 1924, pp. 158-72
1959

Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Venetian School, London 1959
1966

P. Bjuström et al., Christina, Queen of Sweden: A Personality of European Civilisation (exh. cat. Nationalmuseum, 29 June - 16 October 1966), Stockholm 1966
1968

G. Piovene and R. Marini, L'opera completa del Veronese, Milan 1968
1971

T. Pignatti, 'Cinque secoli di pittura nel Palazzo dei Dogi', in E. Bassi, T. Pignatti and C. Lemenzato (eds), Il palazzo ducale di Venezia, Turin 1971, pp. 91-168
1973

The National Gallery, The National Gallery: January 1971 - December 1972, London 1973
1975

C. Gould, Delaroche and Gautier: Gautier's Views on the 'Execution of Lady Jane Grey' and on other Compositions by Delaroche, London 1975
1976

T. Pignatti, Veronese: L'opera completa, Venice 1976
1984

R. Cocke, Veronese's Drawings: A Catalogue Raisonné, London 1984
1987

Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1987
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2001

W.R. Rearick, Il disegno veneziano del Cinquecento, Milan 2001
2001

R. White and J. Kirby, 'A Survey of Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Varnish Compositions Found on a Selection of Paintings in the National Gallery Collection', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XXII, 2001, pp. 64-84
2008

Penny, Nicholas, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings, 2, Venice, 1540-1600, London 2008

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images

More works by Paolo Veronese

(Showing 6 of 10 works)

Happy Union

Paolo Veronese

This is one of a series of four paintings by Veronese that concern the trials and rewards of love, although their precise meanings remain unclear. The compositions are designed to be seen from below, so we know the pictures were intended for a ceiling or a series of ceilings.A couple are united a...

Room 9

Portrait of a Gentleman of the Soranzo Family

Paolo Veronese

Dressed in a sumptuous black velvet doublet and satin robe trimmed with ermine, the man in this portrait looks out to his right with a steady, impassive gaze. Seated in front of an architectural column against a backdrop of shimmering green drapery, the full-length format of this portrait conveys...

Central Hall

Respect

Paolo Veronese

This is one of a series of four paintings by Veronese that concern the trials and rewards of love, although their precise meanings remain unclear. The compositions are designed to be seen from below, so we know the pictures were intended for a series of ceilings.Cupid drags a man in military cost...

Room 9

Scorn

Paolo Veronese

Given the title Scorn in 1727, this is one of a series of four paintings by Veronese that concern the trials and rewards of love, although their precise meanings remain unclear. The compositions are designed to be seen from below, so we know the pictures were intended for a ceiling or a series of...

Room 9

The Adoration of the Kings

Paolo Veronese

The Three Kings have come to visit the infant Christ in the stable where he was born. They bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and have journeyed from the East (Matthew 2: 10–12). The stable at Bethlehem is attached to the ruins of a great classical building with a triumphal arch in the...

Room 9

The Consecration of Saint Nicholas

Paolo Veronese

Saint Nicholas lived in the fourth century and was a bishop of Myra, on the southern coast of modern Turkey. His relics were taken from Myra to Bari in Italy in 1087 and remain there today, which is why he is known as Saint Nicholas of Bari. He is the model of our ‘Santa Claus’ because of a lege...

Room 9

The Conversion of Mary Magdalene

Paolo Veronese

This is one of Veronese’s earliest works, painted when he was about 18, probably for a noble patron in Verona. The lighting from the right suggests that it was made for a specific location, perhaps the side wall of a chapel.The painting’s subject has been the matter of much debate but it is now b...

Not on display

The Dream of Saint Helena

Paolo Veronese

Helen or Helena was mother of the first Christian emperor, Constantine. She dreamed that an angel revealed to her the location of the cross on which Christ was crucified and urged her to travel to the Holy Land to find it. She dug up three crosses and, by testing their healing power, was able to...

Room 9

The Family of Darius before Alexander

Paolo Veronese

Alexander the Great, the Macedonian emperor, visits the distraught family of King Darius III of Persia, who he has defeated in battle. Darius’s mother Sisigambis mistakes Alexander’s friend Hephaestion, who wears plate armour and an orange cloak, for the victor. Alexander comforts Sisigambis, who...

Room 9