The Abduction of Europa

Details

VALERIO CASTELLO (GENOA 1624-1659)
The Abduction of Europa
black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown and gray wash, heightened with white, ink framing lines, watermark 'AL [...]O'
9 1⁄8 x 12 ¾ in. (23.3 x 32.6 cm)

Provenance

Jules-Alexandre Duval Le Camus (1814-1878), Paris (L. 1441).

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Giada Damen, Ph.D. AVP, Specialist, Head of Sale

gdamen@christies.com +1 212 641 7532

Lot Essay

The vibrant style of the composition is characteristic of Valerio Castello’s lively manner. Executed on paper, the work could have been intended as a bozzetto made in preparation for a large painting. The structure of the scene, with the figures clustered on one side of the foreground and an open luminous background, recurs often in Castello compositions such as, for example, in the Moses striking the water from the rock in the Louvre (inv. MI 863; see C. Manzitti, Valerio Castello, Turin, 2004, no. 140, ill.).

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