Objects
Delicate red chalk drawing of four female figures looking in shock at something happening outside the image's frame.

The Rape of Europa

1663–1716Pietro Antonio De PietriItalian, 1663–1716red chalk7 5/8 in. × 10 1/2 in. (19.4 cm. × 26.7 cm.)

Bequest of the Honorable James Bowdoin III

1811.23

This red chalk drawing of the abduction of Europa by Jupiter, who has disguised himself as a white bull, differs markedly from most other visualizations of the myth, which is recounted in the concluding lines of Book II from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Here Europa fades into the distance, vanishing over the sea on the bull’s back. With a slumping posture and leaden limbs, Europa herself seems little distressed by her swift passage away from the shore. This popular story of the mythic foundation of Europe appealed to many artists. Titian’s great painting in Boston and Veronese’s and Guido Reni’s works in London are three of the finest depictions of this theme. The early Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617) studio print of the story is all frothing whitecaps, undulant bovine tail, and fluttering drapery, highlighting Europa and her false-bull conveyance.

—Sean P. Burrus

Collector
Darkly painted portrait of an older white man with gray hair, a ruffled shirt, and a black jacket.
James Bowdoin III

The son of the wealthy merchant and second governor of Massachusetts, James Bowdoin II, Bowdoin figured among a small group of leading figures who recognized the value of art in fostering enlightened ideals and philosophical contemplation among a budding republic.

Related: Drawings 16
Preparatory drawings and engravings for the Iliad and the Odyssey
Preparatory drawings and engravings for the Iliad and the Odyssey John Flaxman
0000.2022.6.21
View from the Summit of Monte Cavo. Design for Plate I of Grecian Remains in Italy. John Izard Middleton 1809
Drawing by Benjamin West after the Capitoline Antinous
The Capitoline Antinous Benjamin West ca. 1760–1763
Rough brown ink sketch with several nude classical figures and cherubs.
Copy after the antique Unknown Artist 1500–1600
Delicate red chalk drawing of a nude goddess reaching down to a kneeling male accompanied by hunting dogs. A chariot hangs in the sky behind Venus.
Venus and Adonis Francisco Vieira Lusitano ca. 1725
Bluish drawing of five male figures surrounding an obelisk. The primary figure reaches toward its tip while another figure kneels below him.
An Augur and Four Figures Around an Obelisk After Polidoro da Caravaggio 1580–1640
Light ink drawing of a seated male figure gazing at two standing female figures, surrounded by trees.
The Choice of Hercules Taddeo Zuccaro ca. 1543–1566
1918.2
Telemachus in Search of His Father John Flaxman 1792–1793
Ink drawing of the Capitoline Antinous nude male statue posed next to the base of a column with the Pantheon in the background.
Capitoline Antinous Unknown Artist ca. 1800
Ink drawing of five classical male figures wearing togas and carrying weapons, posed in action at the base of a tall statue.
Five Classical Figures Jacques-Louis David 1809
Horizontal ink drawing of an active scene featuring several classical figures at a ceremony. Classical Roman architecture fills the background.
Classical Award Ceremony Jean-Pierre Saint-Ours 1752–1809
V-shaped brown ink drawing of a male figure passing two children upwards to a female figure holding an orb and a cross.
Sacred and Christian Rome Maratti, Carlo ca. 1674-1677
Black and white photograph of a detail on the Arch of Titus, featuring several carved figures engaged in battle.
Arch of Titus, Rome Eugène Constant 1848–1852
Gouache painting of a Roman interior with high ceilings, archways, and reliefs. In the foreground, five figures carry a body and others look on.
Interior of a Roman Building Figures Carrying the Body of a Man Charles-Luis Clérisseau ca. 1750–1800
Light, pencil sketch of the amphiteatre ruins, surrounded by a few trees.
Exterior view of the Amphitheatre, Nimes Sir John Herschel 1826
Brown ink sketch of a pilgrim with a broad hat ascending steps to the statue of a young god weilding a thunderbolt and flanked by an eagle.
A Man Before a Roman Temple with a Statue of Jupiter Federico Zuccaro ca. 16th c. CE