Artist Serov Valentin Aleksandrovich knownmany as the author of the portrait genre. Especially famous is his portrait “Girl with Peaches”, which is imbued with sunlight and transparent, airy lightness of a warm day. The painting “The Abduction of Europe” is fundamentally different from Serov’s early paintings not only in genre, but also in composition and image stylistics.
Since antiquity, Greek myths have promptedartists, sculptors and poets create works of art. Mythology to this day is a rich world of heroes and stories. Myths convey the spirit of ancient Greece, a place where beauty was perpetrated and perpetuated. It is not surprising that it is their subjects that most often become the subject of fine art.
For centuries the exploits of Hercules, the tormentPrometheus and Zeus' adventures were captured in various formats, styles and techniques by artists such as Botticelli, Rubens, Rembrandt, Dore and many others. In the period of modernism, the influence of mythology on painting decreased, more attention was paid to the style and technique of the image to the detriment of the plot of the picture.
In Russian painting of the twentieth century, historical andThe mythological genre has gained a “second wind” thanks to the magnificent paintings of Vrubel and Vasnetsov, which revived the plots of national folklore. Ancient Greek myths became the subject of special interest of Valentin Serov in the late period of his work.
At the very beginning of the twentieth century among the people of artthere were rumors about the beginning of a grand project for the design of the Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin. The picturesque decoration of the halls should have emphasized and explained the permanent exhibitions of the museum. In the biography of Serov, there is a clear desire to participate in this project.
In the mid 1900sSerov visited Greece to soak up classical culture and art. Preparation for painting classic museum halls is considered the main goal pursued by the artist. Serov Valentin Alexandrovich began writing the first versions of "Abduction" shortly after the trip.
Many art critics believe that the painting“The Abduction of Europe” and its accompanying “Meeting of Odyssey with Navzikay” were written as sketches for wall paintings, and not for easel paintings. Argument in favor of this point of view can be considered that the author was not going to write any of these oil paintings.
The painting "The Abduction of Europe" as a plotThe line uses the myth of a young Phoenician princess named Europe, the daughter of King Agenor, whom Zeus desired. Turning into a bull, the Olympian God took Europe on his back to the island of Crete.
Interpretation Serov does not require plausibleimages of heroes and their surrounding landscape, she is not trying to create a realistic plot. Valentin Serov sought to generalize artistic images, to create a picture that combines the culture, knowledge and traditions of ancient Greece.
Another argument in favor of writing "Europe"for a decorative panel of the Museum of Art is a unique style of painting. In 1907 Serov went to the island of Crete in order to study the ancient wall paintings of the ancient temple.
Innovative techniques in stylization and even composition of the painting “The Rape of Europe” indicate that the author was inspired by the classical art of ancient Greek monumental historical panels.
The style of the picture can easily be calledminimalistic. Dynamic composition, uniformity of forms, the absence of unnecessary details and the minimum color gamut create the inherent effect of stylization in modern style. The oblong, diagonally elongated shapes of the bull and dolphins, as well as the “waving” horizon line leave the picture without a single straight vertical or horizontal line in the composition. From this, it seems moving upwards.
The figure of a fiery red bull swimming in a stormythe sea, divides the picture into two parts diagonally in both compositional and color terms. Serov chose an atypical color for Zeus in the shape of a bull. In most cases, the magnificence and magnificence of the thunderer is underlined in white, in this case Serov chose a bright orange color, which brought extraordinary dynamism to the color of the picture and simultaneously created a visual focus.
Serov created several variants of the picture, not oneof which is not considered fully completed. In all existing images, the palette and composition remain almost unchanged, in contrast to the many variants of “Meet Odyssey with Navzikaia,” in which Serov experimented with the construction, composition, dynamics and color gamut.
The largest in size and most detailed version of the painting “The Abduction of Europe” is kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery, but at the same time belongs to a private collection.
