Claude (1600-1682)
The Abduction of Europa, 1647
Oil on canvas - 96 x 122 cm
Los Angeles, Getty Museum
Photo : Getty Museum
1/4/08 — Acquisition — Los Angeles, Getty Museum — The museum in California enriched its collections a few months ago with a painting by Claude Lorrain representing Coast View with the Abduction of Europa (ill.). A reproduction appeared in the Liber Veritatis [1] in the year 1647 allowing for a precise dating. The canvas was commissioned by an unknown French patron and later belonged to Joshua Reynolds. In 1930, it was acquired by Jacques Goudstikker whose collection, plundered by the Nazis, was recently returned to his heirs (see news item of 11/2/06 on La Tribune de l’Art in French). The painting had been on deposit for some time at the Musee Boymans-van Beuningen in Rotterdam [2].
At least four paintings by Claude Lorrain representing this subject are known, other than this one. The first, which dates from 1634 (before the start of the Liber Veritatis), is held at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth [3]. The Pushkin Museum in Moscow owns another Abduction of Europa painted in 1655 whereas the Queen of England’s collection holds a version dated 1667. In 1986 a private collection was known to have one dating from 1658 [4]. All of these works reveal a similar composition. A drawing by Claude on the same subject is at the Louvre and is perhaps preparatory for the painting just acquired by the Getty Museum.
In concluding this news item, it is interesting to note that the Getty is particularly appreciative of works originating from restitutions, especially if these have previously been exhibited in museums. In fact, this last criterion seems to be the most important : one could easily bet that a painting which comes up for sale after having been shown in an establishment will end up on the walls of this California museum [5].