Jupiter and Europa c. 1590

drawing, ink

drawing

11_renaissance

ink

Hendrick Goltzius's "Jupiter and Europa" from c. 1590 depicts the mythological scene of the Roman god Jupiter abducting the Phoenician princess Europa. In the foreground, Jupiter, disguised as a bull, grasps Europa in his arms as she reaches for him. The artist's signature is prominent in the lower right corner. This drawing, part of the Städel Museum's collection, exemplifies Goltzius's mastery of Renaissance-inspired, highly detailed figure work.

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stadelmuseum over 1 year ago

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After his return from Italy in 1591, Goltzius increasingly concentrated on designing compositions which other engravers then realised for his publishing house. The two drawings obj. nos. 1792 Z and 1793 Z are examples of such designs. While Goltzius used the pen only sparsely for the outlines, he modelled the bodies with a brush and set delicate accents of light with white opaque paint. He did not draw the line structure of the engraving but created a tonal and painterly chiaroscuro effect with generous brush washes, which the engraver then had to transfer into the hatching patterns of the copperplate.The motifs of obj. nos. 1792 Z and 1793 Z belong to a series of four ""Loves of the Gods"". Here, Zeus (Jupiter), the father of the gods, is seen embracing the king's daughter Europa; in the background the god in the guise of a bull abducts the beautiful princess.