The Rape of Europa

mythological

Much loved by collectors, Zuccarelli specialized in painting luminous Arcadian landscapes. His Tuscan origins are suggested by the clarity and rationality of his compositions. The figures, drawn from classical myths, enhance the refined aristocratic quality of his paintings.

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About the Artist

Francesco Zuccarelli

1702 – 1788

He was a Florentine landscape painter who worked principally in Venice and England. He met Richard Wilson in Venice in 1751 and they exchanged paintings; in 1752 he went to London and remained until 1762. He returned to London in 1765 and stayed until 1771, being elected a Founder-Member of the Royal Academy in 1768. His light and facile style of landscape painting, with picturesque peasantry, was very popular in England and was preferred to the graver style of Wilson. There are several examples in the Royal Collection, Windsor, and others in Cambridge (Fitzwilliam Museum), Glasgow, London (National Gallery), Manchester, Oxford , Venice and elsewhere. London (Tate Gallery) has his grand historical landscape, Cadmus Killing the Dragon (1765).

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