Ovid describes in the Metamorphoses how the mortal Europa was abducted and seduced by the god Jupiter in the guise of a bull. This is a faithful but much reduced copy of a painting from the workshop of Paolo Veronese, now in the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden. It was almost certainly commissioned from Tiepolo by the distinguished Venetian scholar and collector Count Francesco Algarotti (1712-1764), who acted as artistic advisor to Augustus III of Saxony. In 1743 Algarotti purchased the Dresden 'Rape of Europa' - then thought to be by Veronese himself - on behalf of his patron, and presumably asked Tiepolo to copy it before it was sent off.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian / Venetian, 1696 - 1770)
Tiepolo was the outstanding Venetian artist of the eighteenth century. Many of his best works - large, light- filled, colourful and imaginative frescoes, have survived on the walls and ceilings of the villas and palaces for which they were painted. His fluid, rapid style made possible his prolific output, which featured, as well as decorative frescoes, large altarpieces and small canvases and drawings. He was also a talented print-maker. Tiepolo was elected first President of the Venetian Painters' Academy in 1755. Prestigious commissions outside Venice included frescoes for the Prince-Bishop's Residenz at Wurzburg and for Charles III's palace in Madrid.
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