Giulio da Urbino - Plate with the Abduction of Europa - Walters 481498

The painters of "istoriato" maiolica did not always get their literary sources right. This painting shows the story of the maiden Europa, who was abducted by the amorous king of the gods Jupiter in the form of a bull and carried across the sea. The story is told by the poet Ovid in "The Metamorphoses," Book II, but the inscription on the reverse of the plate indicates that it was taken from Book III. The painter narrates the whole story by depicting the main figures several times within a single scene.