It is clear that this myth holds a special place in DeCinti’s heart as he depicted the same scene five times. In 2004, together with Chilean artist Oscar Villalón, DeCinti founded the DeCinti Villalón Painting Studio based in Madrid, where he gives painting classes and promotes his works and art in general. After acquiring his degree in Plastic Arts in 1996, he became a teacher of painting and drawing at La Academia in Spain. Three years later, he came first place in the Arte en Vivo painting competition organized by Librerías Nacional, KLM, and the Royal Dutch Embassy. In 1991, he won an Academic Excellence Scholarship and was accepted into the Faculty of Arts at the University of Chile. He began to study oil painting in his youth. Behance.ĭeCinti was born in 1973 in Santiago, the capital of Chile. Lastly, the addition of the swan may symbolize another one of Zeus’s affairs in which he tricked Leda by transforming himself into a swan.Įuropa’s Abduction Myth: Alejandro DeCinti, El rapto de Europa, 2019, private collection. According to Parkes, this is the Pleiades which ultimately represents Europa herself. On the other hand, Europa seems thoughtful and is staring at the reflection of the stars. The blush on his cheek may indeed demonstrate his shyness and remorse for his deed. The placement of his eyelid shows that he is in a calm state. The sclera is the only part of his eye that is visible to the audience. With all his godly features, Zeus’s face is difficult to interpret. This, indeed, is one of the few if not the only Europa painting which has this specific characteristic. The most astonishing aspect of this painting is that the bull has an actual human face. From 1977 onwards, his one-man exhibitions took place all around the world. He studied graphic art and painting at the University of Kansas. The artistic essence of his works is greatly influenced by magical realism. Parkes is an American painter, sculptor, and lithographer who was born in 1944. Zeus also gifted her with a special spear and a magical dog, Laelaps, who was known for his loyalty.Įuropa’s Abduction Myth: Michael Parkes, Europa, private collection. The second was Talos, an enormous man made of bronze, who walked around the island, acting as a protector. This difference comes from the three gifts that Zeus gave to Europa, which demonstrates the exceptional care Zeus put into this affair. The myth of Europa slightly distinguishes itself from other myths about Zeus’s illegitimate love affairs. Hence, Europa was fascinated with the bull at first sight and when she tried to ride it, she found herself in the Levantine Sea, going towards the island of Crete, Zeus’s birthplace. It would not be inaccurate to interpret this phenomenon as an unwritten literary and religious conventionality. Either way, in Hellenic Polytheism, the gods and what they create are irresistible to the mortal eye. In another version, the bull was given to him by his brother, Poseidon. As the myth goes, Europa was lingering on one of the shores of Tyre when, according to the most famous version, Zeus transformed himself into a beautiful bull. As all mythology lovers know, if there was one thing that Zeus could not resist, it was beauty. They often differ in detail, but the central incident always remains the same.Įuropa was a beautiful Phoenician princess who was the daughter of King Agenor or Phoenix and her mother was either Telephassa or Argiope. From Hesiod to Ovid, Asius of Samos to Aeschylus, Ampelius to Diodorus of Sicily, many authors, historians, and playwrights wrote their own versions. The myth of Europa was retold and rewritten many times throughout antiquity. 530 BCE, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, USA. ![]() Europa’s Abduction Myth: Black-Figure Trefoil Oinochoe (Wine Jug), Europa on Bull, c.
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