The Kidnapping of Europa

Ovid includes the myth of the abduction of Europa by Jupiter in the second book of his Metamorphoses. The king of the gods had fallen in love with Europa and, adopting the guise of a bull, mingled with the herd of King Agenor of Phoenicia and lingered on the meadows where Europa, the king’s daughter liked to pick flowers. Filled with admiration for its beauty and friendliness, Europa mounted the snowywhite back of the bull and crowned his head with a wreath of flowers. Jupiter then abducted her on his back and swam with her to the island of Crete, where he transformed himself back into his true form.
Jordaens uses this story to portray a large group of people, depicting no fewer than 16 life-sized female figures in the composition: on the left is Europa on the bull, to whom an older women is proffering a wreath of flowers; on the right are the princess’ companions. Jordaens does not provide any details that could identify the geographical setting; instead, the mythical narrative is depicted solely through the positions and motions of the bodies. The story is not so much narrated as presented. The arrangement on the figures in the picture is determined less by a specific order than by gradual superimposition, which also is reflected in the postures. Lying on the ground, crouching, kneeling, standing: the entire pictorial space is crammed with bodies seen from a variety of different angles, complex foreshortened twists and gestures which are shown more from bottom to top than from the front to the back. Each body can be clearly distinguished from the others despite the multiple overlaps, and the bright light gives them heightened plasticity. Despite the complexity of the overall picture, the composition appears restrained and clear. Europa on the back of the bull sets a vertical accent that separates her from the rest of the figures in accordance with her significance within the narrative. The other figures are arranged in the opposite diagonal half of the picture in a self-contained contour group. The colours serve to heighten the impact of the composition. The vivid hues of the robes combined with the golden tan and cool pallor of the skin tones gives the picture a splendidly festive character. Almost like a decorator, Jordaens adds emphases to the basic group, using highlights to pick out decorative shapes: flowers that glow like gems, costly jewels, the pale blonde of fashionably arranged hairstyles, the gleam of a wide-open eye. The choice of colours and shapes indicate that this painting is an early one, produced after Jordaens had completed his apprenticeship at Adam van Noort in Antwerp by qualifying as a master painter in 1615, and it reveals the influence of Rubens. The powerful, energetic physicality, which gives the bodies a suggestive plasticity, proves clearly that the artist emulated the elevated style of Rubens’ sculptural-classical figures. However, while Rubens’ art strove to attain an ideal of heightened humanity by employing figures inspired by noble classical ideals, Jordaens remains down to earth. For instance, his choir of maidens has a distinctly rustic character. The figures seem to express the light-hearted freshness and clearly delineated clarity of the Flemish countryside. It was this aspect in particular that gained Jordaens the accolade of being the “most genuine” Flemish painter amongst his contemporaries. Jan Kelch | 200 Masterpieces of European Painting - Gemäldegalerie Berlin, 2019