The Rape of Europa (L'enlevement d'Europe)

1898-1899

Paul Gauguin

Associated Names
Paul Gauguin

Artist, French, 1848 - 1903

This is a painting of two figures on a horse with abstract and animal motifs in the background. The image captures an imaginative scene where two elongated, stylized figures are riding a horse, with a large bird depicted in a separate section of the image. The horse stands at the center of the composition, and the expressions and postures of the figures suggest a journey or movement. The background suggests abstract forms resembling clouds and celestial elements. The artwork employs a monochrome palette, emphasized by the use of bold outlines and shadows.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on chine collé, with a fragment of another print on back of mount

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1950.16.65

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Mongan et al. 1988, no. 47, State only state (A)

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1956

  • Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), The Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL; and The Lowe Gallery, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 1956, no. 46..

1988

  • The Art of Paul Gauguin, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and Grand Palais, Paris, 1988-1989, no. 233b.

Bibliography

1927

  • Guérin, Marcel. L'Oeuvre gravé de Gauguin. 2 vols. Paris: H. Floury, 1927.

1988

  • Mongan, Elizabeth, Eberhard W. Kornfeld, and Harold Joachim. Paul Gauguin: Catalogue Raisonne of his Prints. Berne: Galerie Kornfeld, 1988.

  • The Art of Paul Gauguin. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1988: no. 233b.

Wikidata ID

Q65363946

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