The Abduction of Europa

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The Abduction of Europa

Artist Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867-1947)

Place of OriginFrance

Date1919

DimensionsPainting: 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)

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1930.215

On View

External Site Address (External address), On Loan

Label TextSumptuous, 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.Published ReferencesG. Besson, Bonnard, Paris, 1934, p. 2, fig. 33.

Bonnard Memorial Exhibition, New York, Museum of Modern Art, 1948, no. 37, repr.

T. Natanson, Le Bonnard que je propose, Geneva, 1951, p. 140.

H. Rumpel, Bonnard, Berne, 1952, p. 25, fig. 42.

Bonnard, Lyons, Musée des Beaux Arts, 1954, no. 42, fig. 9.

A. Vaillant, Bonnard ou le bonheur de voir, Neuchatel, 1965, pp. 124, 229, repr. p. 197.

J. and H. Dauberville, Bonnard, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, Paris, 1965, II, no. 972, repr.

Pierre Bonnard, London, Royal Academy, 1966, p. 20, no. 138, repr.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 25-26, pl. 288, (col.) pl. XII.

Dunstan, Bernard, "Looking at Paintings," American Artist, vol. 42, no. 435, Oct. 1978, pp. 58-59, repr. (col.).

Nash, Steven A., "Tradition Revised: Some Sources in Late Bonnard," Bonnard, the Late Paintings, Washington, 1984, p. 25, repr., fig. 15.

Pierre Bonnard, Zurich, Das Kunsthaus, 1984, no. 90, p. 194, repr. (col.).

Terrasse, Antoine, Pierre Bonnard, Paris, 1988, no. 134, repr. (col.).

Salzmann, Siegfried, Mythos Europa: Europa und der Stier im Zeitalter der industriellen Zivilisation, Bonn, 1988, p. 244, repr. (col.).

Lewis, David, "Museum impressions," Carnegie Magazine, vol. 59, no. 12, Nov/Dec. 1989, p. 16.

Gerstein, Marc S., Impressionism: Selections from Five American Museums, New York, Hudson Hills Press, 1989, no. 3, p. 28, repr. (col.).

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Treasures, Toledo, 1995, p. 163, repr. (col.).

Hyman, Timothy, Bonnard, London, 1998, pp. 106-107, fig. 82.

Terrasse, Michel, Bonnard from the Drawings to the Paintings, Paris, 1998, p. 149, repr. (col.).

Keenan, Sheila, Gods, Goddesses, and Monsters: An Encyclopedia of World Mythology, New York, 2000, p. 63, repr. (col.).

D'apres l'antique, Paris, 2000, p. 97, fig. 100.

Gommers, Peter H., Europe - What's in a Name, Leuven, 2001, p. 173, repr. p. 176 (col.).

Europa: The European Idea and Identity, from Ancient Greece to the 21st Century, Mercatorfonds, Fundación Academia Europea de Yuste, 2001, p. 191, repr. (col.).

Groom, Gloria, Beyond the Easel: Decorative Painting by Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis, and Roussel, 1890-1930, Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, 2001, no. 56, pp. 194-196, 271, repr. p. 195 (col.).

Turner, Elizabeth Hutton, Pierre Bonnard: Early and Late, Washington, D.C., Phillips Collection, 2002, fig. 27, p. 39, pl. 79, p. 168 (col.), p. 265-266.

Bonnard, Paris, Connaissance des Arts, 2006, pp. 28-29, repr. (col.)

Page, Suzanne, Pierre Bonnard: l'oeuvre d'art, un arrêt du temps, Paris, Paris-Musees, 2006, no. 44, p. 166, repr. (col.) p. 167.

Guegan, Stéphane, "Paysages," in Pagé, Suzanne, Pierre Bonnard: l'oeuvre d'art: un arret du temps, Paris, BeauxArts Magazine (Hors-série) 2006, p. 62, repr. p. 58 (col.).

Gange, Francoise, Le viol d'Europe, ou le féminine bafoué, Monaco, Ed., Alphée, 2007, repr. p. 4 and (det., col.) on cover.

Dethurens, Pascal, "Europe, lieu-fantasme. Le mythe d'Europe in Lieux d'Europe: mythes et limites, Paris, Ed. de la Maison des sciences de l'homme, 2008, p. 16, 17, fig. 9 (col.).

The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 305, repr. (col.).

Frontisi-Ducroux, Francoise, et al., Le Desir et les Dieux, Paris, Flammarion, 2014, p. 105, repr. (col.) pp.106-107.

Cogeval, Guy and Isabelle Cahn, Pierre Bonnard: Peindre l'Arcadie, Paris, Musee d'Orsay, 2015, repr. (col.) p. 43, no. 25, cat. 11.

Cogeval, Guy, Bonnard, Paris, Editions Hazan, 2015, p. 110, repr. (col.) p. 111.

Delaplanche, Jerome, Ravissement, Paris, Citadelles & Mazenod, 2018, repr. (col.) fig. 69, p. 142.

Exhibition HistorySan Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, French Painting, 1934, no. 61.

New York, Museum of Modern Art, Bonnard Memorial Exhibition, 1948, no. 37.

Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne, L'oeuvre du XXe siècle, 1952, no. 4.

Paris, Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1952.

London, Tate Gallery, 1952.

Lyons, Musée des Beaux Arts, Bonnard, 1954, no. 42.

Palm Beach, FL, Society of the Four Art, 1957.

London, Royal Academy, Pierre Bonnard, 1966, no. 138.

Zurich, Kunsthaus, Pierre Bonnard, Dec. 14, 1984-Mar. 10, 1985, no. 90.

Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art; Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Kansas City, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; Saint Louis Art Museum; Toledo Museum of Art, Impressionism: Selections from Five American Museums, 1989-1990, no. 3.

Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Beyond the Easel: Decorative Painting by Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis, and Roussel, 1890-1930, 2001, no. 56.

Washington, D.C., Phillips Collection; Denver Art Museum, Pierre Bonnard: early and late, 2002-2003.

Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Pierre Bonnard: l'oeuvre d'art, un arrêt du temps, January 18 - April 30, 2006, no. 44.

Paris, Musee d'Orsay; Madrid, Fundacion Mapfre; San Francisco, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947): Peindre l'Arcadie, March 16, 2015-May 15, 2016.