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The Rape of Europa

A work made of etching on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of etching on ivory laid paper.

Date:

1634

Artist:

Claude Lorrain
French, 1600-1682

About this artwork

Claude Lorrain characteristically depicted sea harbors along shorelines and often used mythical figures to complete his classical landscapes. Derived from Ovid’s book Metamorphoses, The Rape of Europa illustrates Jupiter as a white bull, while the object of his desire, Europa, unsuspectingly rides on his back before being carried out to sea. Instead of portraying the typical scene of Europa’s abduction, Lorrain chose to depict her initial entrapment by Jupiter, in keeping with the artist’s arcadian and poetic nature.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Claude Lorrain

Title

The Rape of Europa

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1634

Medium

Etching on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Image: 19.5 × 25.7 cm (7 11/16 × 10 1/8 in.); Plate: 19.9 × 26.4 cm (7 7/8 × 10 7/16 in.); Sheet: 22.4 × 27.1 cm (8 7/8 × 10 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Clarence Buckingham Collection

Reference Number

1942.532

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/45459/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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