(Naples 1607-1656)
The Rape of Europa,
oil on canvas, 128.5 x 182 cm, framed

Provenance:
European Private Collection

We are grateful to Riccardo Lattuada for suggesting the attribution, on the basis of high resolution digital photographs.

According to Lattuada, the present painting belongs to Pacecco de Rosa’s mature production. This is apparent in the stylistic handling of the face of Europa, which is also close to models by Massimo Stanzione, a constant point of reference for the painter; as well as the taste for splendid drapery, another typical characteristic of the artist’s late production (see V. Pacelli et al., Giovan Francesco de Rosa detto Pacecco de Rosa, 1607-1656, Naples, 2008).

It is most probable that the composition for the present the painting was inspired by Guido Reni’s Rape of Europa in the National Gallery, London (1637-39; from the Mahon Collection), known through innumerable copies and variants. The taste for calligraphic details and the faces of Europa’s companions seem very close to those types by Artemisia Gentileschi and by Massimo Stanzione himself around 1640. Another completely different version of the Rape of Europa by Pacecco de Rosa is known in a private collection, and a similar one is in Corsica, Patrimoine Municipal (see. G. Porzio in: V. Pacelli et al. ibid., 2008, pp. 328-329, no. 62).

The composition is very similar to that of the Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well by Pacecco de Rosa (see V. Pacelli in: V. Pacelli et al. ibid. 2008, p. 358, no. 96, who dates the painting to around 1650).

We are grateful to Riccardo Lattuada for his help in cataloguing the present painting.