The Rape of Europa

Pierre Gobert's Rape of Europa, painted between 1710 and 1720, depicts the mythological scene of Zeus in the form of a white bull abducting the Phoenician princess Europa. Gobert was a French portrait painter who served at the court of Louis XIV and Louis XV, known primarily for his portraits of the royal family and court ladies. This mythological work represents a departure from his usual subject matter into the narrative tradition.

The oil on canvas shows the elegant, decorative approach of late Louis XIV court painting, with soft, pastel-tinted flesh tones and graceful figural arrangement. The refined palette and smooth handling reflect the emerging Rococo sensibility in early eighteenth-century French painting.