The Rape of Europa, after Guido Reni
ca. 1636
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 8 13/16 x 12 3/8 in. (22.4 x 31.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Herbert Mitchell, 2008
Accession Number
2018.839.165
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Rape of Europa, Guido Reni*, a etching from around 1636, created by Simone Cantarini in homage to his mentor, the eminent Baroque master Guido Reni. This vividly captures the mythological tale from Ovid's *Metamorphoses*, where Jupiter, disguised as a bull, abducts the Phoenician princess Europa amid swirling waves and divine drama. Reni's original painting, with its graceful figures and luminous elegance, exemplifies the Bolognese school's refined classicism during the height of the Italian Baroque. Cantarini's etching masterfully translates Reni's oil composition into intricate ...
About the Artist
Guido Reni|Simone Cantarini · 1575–1642
Guido Reni (1575–1642) was one of the most celebrated Italian painters of the Baroque era and the dominant figure of the Bolognese School. Born into a family of musicians in Bologna, he trained first with Denys Calvaert before joining the influential Accademia degli Incamminati led by Ludovico Carracci. Reni achieved international fame through his idealizing style that combined Baroque dynamism wi...