Description of the picture:
The Abduction of Europe – Paolo Veronese. 1578. Oil on canvas. 240×303 cm
The romantic story of the loving Zeus or Jupiter was captured on the canvases of many painters. Captivated by the beauty of the daughter of the Phoenician king of Europe, the lord of Olympus appears to her in the form of a bull to abduct. It was from this union that the great ruler of Crete Minos, Radamant (one of the judges in the kingdom of Hades) and Sarpedon descended.
The first thing that attracts attention in the work is a complex compositional structure. All the action takes place in the lower left corner of the picture. We see that moment in the plot when Zeus has already set beautiful Europe on his back and is ready to tear himself away from the place held by the girlfriends of his beloved.
It should be noted that the color scheme of the picture. Veronese did not skimp on the palette, constantly being in search of new shades. That’s why the canvas looks so realistic, bright and fresh, even after more than four centuries."