Abduction of Europa by Rembrandt Tie

The Abduction of Europa by Rembrandt, oil on canvas 1632, is an early painting depicting the story from classical Greek mythology of the princess Europa borne away across the sea by Zeus, the king of the gods who has taken the form of a large white bull. Europa became the consort of Zeus and first queen of Crete, and ultimately bestowed the name upon the continent of Europe. Rembrandt reimagines the ancient story with a setting and details of his contemporary Dutch culture, in a realistic, dramatic landscape observed from nature and onlookers who look on in horror as their princess rides away upon the galloping bull. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606 - 1669) was a Dutch painter and printmaker born in Leiden and active in Amsterdam during the height of the Dutch Golden Age of painting. Rembrandt apprenticed briefly with the painter Pieter Lastman before opening his own studio, where he went on to create many portraits, paintings and prints with Biblical, mythological and historical themes. Enjoying great success and fame as a portraitist and history painter, the artist experienced personal and financial hardships after the death of his wife, Saskia. Universally revered as one of the greatest painters and printmakers in Western art, Rembrandt is known for his deep empathy for the human condition. Rembrandt forged his innovative, painterly technique in his own observations of human life and deep study of classical art, the Renaissance, and the form and expression of the human figure.