Nicolaes Berchem (1620–1683), Circle of - Europa y el toro - XL format

icolaes Berchem Environment (1620–1683) Europe and the Bull / The Rape of Europe Oil on canvas 135 × 102 cm With frame: 146 × 113 cm Important and monumental painting of the Dutch school from the 17th century, closely related, both in conception and in certain stylistic and iconographic resources, to the pictorial universe of Nicolaes Pietersz. Berchem (Haarlem, 1620–Amsterdam, 1683), one of the great figures of the Dutch Italianate trend within Dutch Golden Age painting. The composition represents the mythological episode of Europe and the bull, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. According to the classical tale, Jupiter, in love with the Phoenician princess Europe, takes the likeness of a magnificent white bull to approach her. Fascinated by the bull’s meekness and beauty, Europe ends up entrusting herself to him before being led to sea and abducted by the god. The painter chooses here one of the moments of greatest narrative richness of the episode. Europe appears majestically seated beside the white bull, whose powerful face occupies a large part of the foreground. The animal, adorned with a crown of flowers, ceases to function as a mere accessory element and acquires an extraordinary psychological and visual presence. Europe, richly dressed, looks outward from the composition while a second figure appears in the distance, integrating into a twilight landscape. The monumentality of the figures, the chromatic richness of the garments, the strong contrast between the illuminated areas and the shadowy landscape, and especially the extraordinary importance given to the animal situate the work within a particularly significant tradition of 17th-century Dutch painting. Relation to Nicolaes Berchem The painting presents interesting affinities with the work of Nicolaes Berchem, one of the leading representatives of the so-called Dutch Italianates. The National Gallery of Art defines him as one of the most popular and successful Italianizing painters of his time and documents, within his extensive production, both pastoral scenes and biblical and mythological subjects. Berchem developed a singular ability to integrate human figure, landscape, and animals within the same narration. Precisely that triple condition — history painter, landscape painter, and extraordinary animal painter — is especially relevant when analyzing the present work. The most suggestive comparison is made with the famous Rape of Europe by Nicolaes Berchem housed in the State Hermitage Museum. In that composition, as in the present painting, the white bull receives exceptional prominence. The Hermitage itself notes that that work demonstrates Berchem’s capacities as a history painter, a landscape painter, and an animal painter, highlighting especially the virtuoso representation of the bull’s head. This feature finds a clear parallel in the present work: the animal is not relegated to the landscape, but its head occupies the foreground and, together with Europe, forms one of the two great visual centers of the composition. The bull’s gaze directed at the viewer, the volumetric construction of the snout, the reflections on the white coat, and the floral ornamentation render the animal an individualized presence. This ability to confer monumentality and character to cattle repeatedly appears in Berchem. The National Gallery of London highlights in A Man and a Youth ploughing with Oxen the robustness, musculature, and chromatic richness of the animals, while in other compositions by the master the cows function as essential elements of the painting’s structure rather than mere pastoral accessories. The palette is also noteworthy. The intense reddish-orange tones of Europe’s clothing contrast with the deep greenish-blue of the broad mantle that diagonally crosses the foreground. These chromatic accents rise over a landscape built with greens, earth tones, and dark browns, a technique perfectly compatible with the chromatic contrast sought by Dutch Italianate painting. The National Gallery of Ireland precisely points out Berchem’s specialty in combining vividly colored figures and animals within Italianizing landscapes and recalls that his skill in this field led other artists to seek him out to incorporate figures and animals into their own compositions. Berchem and the Flemish tradition There is also another particularly interesting aspect. Although Berchem is one of the fundamental figures of Dutch painting, his language did not remain isolated from the Flemish tradition. Studies on his Hermitage Rape of Europe have expressly noted the affinities of that painting with Jacob Jordaens, a circumstance especially relevant in a composition such as the present one. The physical roundness of Europe, the abundant hair, the broad and heavy folds of the fabrics, the chromatic intensity, and the markedly sensual character of the scene recall that northern Baroque current in which the Dutch tradition dialogues with Flemish models. At the same time, the landscape responds to that Italy-inspired fascination that characterizes Berchem and other Dutch painters of his generation. There is even current historiography discussing whether Berchem actually traveled to Italy: while some sources have defended a possible trip, more recent research suggests that he may have built his Italian imagination from artists such as Pieter van Laer, Jan Both, and Jan Asselijn. The Rijksmuseum expressly notes that there is no documentation of an Italian journey and that these masters were probably his main models. A monumental composition It should also be noted the exceptional format of the work: 135.26 × 102.24 cm, considerably large dimensions for a painting of this nature. Its scale allows the figures to achieve an almost natural presence. Europe and the bull physically dominate the pictorial space, while the landscape and the secondary figure provide depth to the scene. The result is much closer to a true mythological history painting than to a small cabinet scene. The composition is carefully articulated through diagonals: the wide blue mantle leads toward Europe; the dancer’s body leads to the bull’s head, and the gesture of the hand establishes the physical link between the two protagonists. The secondary figure in the background balances the visual weight of the large animal on the right. Particularly notable is the treatment of the different materials: the gloss of the fabrics, the flesh tones, Europe’s abundant hair, the white fur of the bull, the flowers and vegetation. All of this demonstrates an ambitious execution and an evident familiarity with the resources of high Baroque painting in northern Europe. Cataloging Due to its formal, iconographic, and technical characteristics, the work can be situated within the Dutch school of the 17th century, showing a close stylistic relationship with Nicolaes Berchem and, in particular, with that aspect of his production in which the master tackled mythological subjects through the combination of monumental figures, animals, and landscape. The comparison with the Rape of Europe kept in the Hermitage is especially pertinent both for the iconographic coincidence and for the extraordinary prominence given to the white bull. Berchem was also an enormously influential artist: he had numerous pupils and followers, and his compositions were widely copied and disseminated through engravings during the 17th and 18th centuries. The specific attribution should, however, remain open to future research, particularly through direct study of the pictorial surface, support, preparation, possible old interventions, and provenance. The quality and characteristics of the painting justify, in any case, its study within the context of Nicolaes Berchem and 17th-century Dutch mythological painting in the Italianate style. Conservation status: the work shows signs of aging and restorations/interventions compatible with its material history, observable in the photographs. It is recommended to carefully consult the images, which are part of the description. Framing: the painting is currently presented with a frame, reaching total dimensions of 146 × 113 cm. Due to the exceptional size of the work and for safety reasons during transport, the shipment will be made without a frame. The frame is available to the buyer and can be collected in person or arranged for collection completely free of charge by the seller.

Stima:€3,000

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