Europa and the Bull
Paul Manship American
The Greek myth telling of the seduction of the Phoenician princess Europa by Zeus in the guise of a white bull has been a popular theme in art through the ages. Manship produced several variations on the Europa theme from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s. In this version he shows Europa raising her left arm over her head to embrace the head of the bull lying behind her. The bull affectionately nuzzles and licks her arm. The simplified forms of the work include few details and a balanced interlocking of the figures; the crisply articulated silhouettes characteristic of Manship's earlier figural groups are more compacted here. The artist deliberately burnished areas of the green-brown patina to create highlights, which emphasize his preoccupation with geometric volume over linear decoration.
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