The Abduction of Europa by Noël-Nicolas Coypel was done in France, 1727. This piece is telling a story that emphasizes the importance of romance in Greek mythology. The Abduction of Europa is to depicting a scene of a female that is riding a white bull through the water. The overall scene is chaotic but the girl on the bull seems to be more calm and in thought and the bull looks extremely content. There is a man behind the girl on the bull that is holding an orange piece of cloth that is located against the girl and bull. The girl is also making direct eye contact with him and they seem to be longing for each other. All the way to the right there looks to be a goddess, judging by her attributes it is possibly Galatea. The man next to
…show more content…
The composition is asymmetric since the women on the bull are the focus yet they are more to the left than the center. There are a lot of people in the foreground, middle and in the back. This piece does not have any physical texture, the whole thing is done very smoothly even though the Coypel was able to make the waves and other details come off very textural within the painting. Not only is the forms in this painting are elaborate but the colors are also. There is a lot of tones of blue since the scene takes place in the water but towards the left there is some warmer gold/yellow tones to break it up and also use as a light source. The colors also help create the illusion of perspective. Coypel does not use one-point perspective to draw you in the focal point and give the illusion of depth, he uses atmospheric perspective instead. Atmospheric perspective is the use of colors, detail and proportion in order to create perspective. Coypel uses this but not how most people do. Normally artist would put warmer tones in the front yet Coypel put his warmest tones in the back. This does not effect the sense of perspective though because he puts the more darker and saturated colors in the front and as the painting moves into the background the colors become more light and faded. Also in atmospheric perspective the …show more content…
The artist, Noël-Nicolas Coypel, was not a well known artist due to the fact that he was overshadowed by his older half-brother, Antione Coypel and lived a short life, from 1690 to 1734 (1). He came from a family of prestigious painters and that is relevant in his work. He also played a major part in the beginning of the development of the Rococo style in France and his art does display some of the characteristics of the Rococo art style (2). The Rococo art style is mostly defined by its use of asymmetry and naturalism (3). One of Coypels most well known pieces is The Rape of Europa (The Abduction of Europa), 1727. Noël-Nicolas Coypels painting earned lots of praise and was bought by one of the secretaries of state (1). This piece is expressing the noble values in Greek mythology. Greek mythology is very humanistic subject to paint and this piece demonstrates the studies and art that influenced ancient Greece. One thing that was emphasized in Greek mythology is love and this painting tells the tale of two love stories. The girl riding the bull is the story of Europa and Zeus’s lust for her. Zeus falls in love with the beauty of Europa, so in order for him to pursue this love he takes the form of a strong and elegant white bull. Europa was infatuated with this bull and climbs on top of it. Zeus then runs away with her across the sea to Crete and impregnates her.
The composition is asymmetric since the women on the bull are the focus yet they are more to the left than the center. There are a lot of people in the foreground, middle and in the back. This piece does not have any physical texture, the whole thing is done very smoothly even though the Coypel was able to make the waves and other details come off very textural within the painting. Not only is the forms in this painting are elaborate but the colors are also. There is a lot of tones of blue since the scene takes place in the water but towards the left there is some warmer gold/yellow tones to break it up and also use as a light source. The colors also help create the illusion of perspective. Coypel does not use one-point perspective to draw you in the focal point and give the illusion of depth, he uses atmospheric perspective instead. Atmospheric perspective is the use of colors, detail and proportion in order to create perspective. Coypel uses this but not how most people do. Normally artist would put warmer tones in the front yet Coypel put his warmest tones in the back. This does not effect the sense of perspective though because he puts the more darker and saturated colors in the front and as the painting moves into the background the colors become more light and faded. Also in atmospheric perspective the …show more content…
The artist, Noël-Nicolas Coypel, was not a well known artist due to the fact that he was overshadowed by his older half-brother, Antione Coypel and lived a short life, from 1690 to 1734 (1). He came from a family of prestigious painters and that is relevant in his work. He also played a major part in the beginning of the development of the Rococo style in France and his art does display some of the characteristics of the Rococo art style (2). The Rococo art style is mostly defined by its use of asymmetry and naturalism (3). One of Coypels most well known pieces is The Rape of Europa (The Abduction of Europa), 1727. Noël-Nicolas Coypels painting earned lots of praise and was bought by one of the secretaries of state (1). This piece is expressing the noble values in Greek mythology. Greek mythology is very humanistic subject to paint and this piece demonstrates the studies and art that influenced ancient Greece. One thing that was emphasized in Greek mythology is love and this painting tells the tale of two love stories. The girl riding the bull is the story of Europa and Zeus’s lust for her. Zeus falls in love with the beauty of Europa, so in order for him to pursue this love he takes the form of a strong and elegant white bull. Europa was infatuated with this bull and climbs on top of it. Zeus then runs away with her across the sea to Crete and impregnates her.