The Abduction of Europa
Artist: Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867-1947)
Date: 1919
Dimensions:
Painting: 46 1/4 × 60 1/4 in. (117.5 × 153 cm)
Frame: 57 1/4 × 71 3/4 × 5 in. (145.4 × 182.2 × 12.7 cm)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1930.215
Label Text:It may immediately strike you that the style of this painting is different from any other in this gallery (with the exception of Henri Edmond Cross’s At the Fair). Compare it to a nearby Impressionist painting by Pissarro or Monet, and the difference becomes even clearer. Though often using fragmented brushstrokes, the Impressionists blended their colors on the canvas. Paul Signac and other Neo-Impressionists like Georges Seurat and Cross sought a more scientific process based on color theory and optics. They treated color as light, placing dots or strokes of pure pigment side by side so that the eye would “mix” them when the canvas was viewed from a distance.
While Seurat applied paint in dots (points in French)—leading to the term pointillism to describe the technique—his admirer Signac came to favor longer dashes that resemble the individual stones of a mosaic. Signac was, in fact, influenced by the Byzantine mosaics he had admired on trips to Istanbul and Venice.
Sumptuous, translucent colors and softly washed brushwork merge the mythological figures of this painting into a dreamlike harmony with nature, creating a sensuous effect. Though usually painting scenes of domestic life, Pierre Bonnard became increasingly intrigued with the imagery of pastoral myth during the first two decades of the 20th century. Here he depicts the myth of Greek god Zeus transforming himself into a magnificent white bull in order to abduct the princess Europa across the sea.
Bonnard shows the moment in the story when Europa, charmed by the bull, climbs onto its back. One of her female companions seems equally charmed, while the other looks on with alarm. Apparently oblivious to the drama, a faun (part-goat forest spirit) plays a horn for a reclining figure. Bonnard does not focus on Europa’s struggle and distress as she is carried out to sea, as other artists had when depicting the myth. Instead, he shows the young woman and the bull in playful flirtation, adding to the impression of a timeless world of idle pleasure.
While Seurat applied paint in dots (points in French)—leading to the term pointillism to describe the technique—his admirer Signac came to favor longer dashes that resemble the individual stones of a mosaic. Signac was, in fact, influenced by the Byzantine mosaics he had admired on trips to Istanbul and Venice.
Sumptuous, translucent colors and softly washed brushwork merge the mythological figures of this painting into a dreamlike harmony with nature, creating a sensuous effect. Though usually painting scenes of domestic life, Pierre Bonnard became increasingly intrigued with the imagery of pastoral myth during the first two decades of the 20th century. Here he depicts the myth of Greek god Zeus transforming himself into a magnificent white bull in order to abduct the princess Europa across the sea.
Bonnard shows the moment in the story when Europa, charmed by the bull, climbs onto its back. One of her female companions seems equally charmed, while the other looks on with alarm. Apparently oblivious to the drama, a faun (part-goat forest spirit) plays a horn for a reclining figure. Bonnard does not focus on Europa’s struggle and distress as she is carried out to sea, as other artists had when depicting the myth. Instead, he shows the young woman and the bull in playful flirtation, adding to the impression of a timeless world of idle pleasure.
Not on view
In Collection(s)