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Luca Giordano

Rape of Europa

1652-1705
Brush and brown oil paint, with black chalk, heightened with white oil paint, on cream laid paper, laid down on cream laid paper
17.3 × 23.6 cm (6.8 × 9.3 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Among the most famous Baroque artists from Naples, Luca Giordano was nicknamed Luca fa presto (Luca creates quickly), which can be appreciated in the spontaneity of his draftsmanship as well as that of his paintings. Reminiscent of the famous Venetian painting by Titian, the drawing tells the story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses in which the god Jupiter takes on the form of a white bull in order to lure Europa away.

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