Image:Rembrandt Abduction of Europa.jpg

English: The Abduction of Europa by Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1632); Oil on panel. Currently on display at The Getty Center in Los Angeles.

img url: http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/images/l/00106901.jpg

The painting describes the story of seduction of the Princess of Europa. Zeus changed himself into a white bull in order to seduce her and carry her to the far-off land that would have her name. It is 24 1/2 inches in width and 30 5/16 inches in length. The picture is somewhat dark, and the dark contrast covers the greenery of the trees even though the sunlight breaks through from the sky.

This painting shows a scene at the ocean, with two figures in the water and several others on a beach. Europa and the white bull are in the water, and three servants and the carriage driver are on the beach. Europa is wearing a glittering gold plated red gown, grabbing the bull?s horns, squeezing her fingers into its neck and turning back to see her servants screaming and acting helplessly. One young servant wearing a blue and a white gown falls back to the ground dropping flowers she was holding an instant ago. She raises her arms to express the unexpected actions. The servant next to her clasps her hands in prayer, looking helplessly towards Princess Europa. The driver of the glittering gold plated carriage rises from his feet and stares at the princess in shock. The servant who is right next to the carriage raises her head inquisitively. The three carriage horses are looking at a city covered with mist in the distance, while the other white horse turns around to see the water?s edge.

This particular art work represents the ancient Roman poet Ovid?s story about the god Jupiter seducing a princess called Europa. This Roman tale was known as The Abduction of Europa and also known as The Seduction of Europa, substituting the god Jupiter for Zeus. Edith Hamilton?s Mythology says Zeus, the son of Cronus, overthrew his father to free his five siblings and rule the gods. He is the most powerful of all the gods. Yet he is not invincible. According to Ovid?s The Metamorphosis Zeus?s father Cronus calls his son aside and asks him ?Son, faithful worker of my commands, go, quickly in your usual way, fly down to where, in an eastern land, they observe your mother?s star, among the Pleiads. There drive the group of royal cattle, that you will see some distance off, browsing the mountain grass, towards the sea shore!? Zeus immediately leaves and takes the shape of a bull, a bull that was snow white. His eyes were unthreatening. Europa dared to sit on the bull?s back. The god slowly moved from offshore to the shoreline and gradually goes further out to sea. Europa became the first queen of Crete, and she gives birth to a hero, King Minos of Crete.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, the artist who created The Abduction of Europa, was born on July 15, 1606, in Leiden, in the Netherlands. He was considered to be one of the greatest painters and printmakers in the European history. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age, across the 17th century.

According to Dutch Golden Age on the website Wikipedia, in 1568 the seven provinces signed the union Utrecht against Philip II: the eighty years war. The war between Spain and England stopped. Philip?s Spanish troops were conquering cities and when they conquered Antwerp which was the most important port in the world, the Eighty Year?s war was ended.

This caused the rich civilians of the Southern Netherlands to move to the North and some moved to Amsterdam. This factor had a direct effect on the development of 17th Century Dutch art, sciences and trade. Rembrandt?s father became rich because of the population of Amsterdam increased, and wanted his son to follow an educated profession and become influential outside of the family business. Rembrandt?s mother was a baker?s daughter. According to Rembrandt on the website WebMuseum, Paris Rembrandt left the University of Leiden to study painting. He was inspired by Italian artists and their work even though he had never visited Italy in his life. When he became established as a painter, he began teaching art.

Dutch painter Jozef Israels once said ?Rembrandt remains "the true type of artist, free, untrammeled by traditions." That enlightens my idea about this artist, that he had a different form of an idea about life, art as well as traditions. He knew about society and people of different backgrounds. He was someone who lived a life outside the box and was not limited by traditions or religious convictions. Early 20th century, Rembrandt has produced nearly 600 paintings, 400 etchings and 2000 drawings. His paintings were characterized by the fine technique in the portrayal of illusionistic form. The influence was most famous during Rembrandt?s Leiden period (1625-1631). Classicism describes this particular painting better. Classicism is the principles or styles characteristic of the literature and art of ancient Greece and Rome. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained. The paintings were rather small but rich in detail. One of the shining examples is The Abduction of Europa.

There are so many ideas behind this particular art work. This painting has been famous through out because the story of Europa reveals something of the nature of myth. As I am a Buddhist and come from a small country called Sri Lanka, this painting and the story behind it reminds me of the scene when prince Sidhartha crossing the Neranjana river on his white horse Kanthaka. As princess Europa ran away from the superior life, prince Siddhartha also ran away to find the truth of life. Even though he was born to one of the richest families, after seeing an old man, a crippled man, corpse and a monk, he ran away to find why people suffer. So the universal theme here is western culture and Buddhism had something in common. People had similar beliefs. In the western world, even though Buddhism was not a religion, nor a philosophy or a set of policies, its teachings to guide one to directly experience reality and living a good life. Considering all the facts, I assume this is one spectacular piece of art which has the power to recite a huge part of the Greek mythology.

Written by Dihan Peiris. California State Univeristy, Northridge.

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