Jupiter and Europa
Date1770-1771 (probably)
Artist
Matthew Pratt (1734-1805)
After work by
Guido Reni (1575-1642)
OriginEngland
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 45 x 34 1/8in. (114.3 x 86.7cm) and Framed: 52 1/4 x 39 1/4 x 2 1/2in.
Credit LinePartial Gift, William H. Cameron and Museum Purchase
Object number1992-45,A
DescriptionA mythological subject showing a blonde, brown-eyed woman in an empire-waisted, short-sleeved dress with a salmon-colored cape billowing behind her, the cape color appearing light in some areas and dark in others and having a distinctive yellow-colored portion that is buttoned over her proper left upper arm. A lavender-colored belt is tied in a bow below the woman's breasts. A length of figured green ribbon adorns the neckline of the dress and is secured front and center by a jeweled brooch. The woman gazes skyward. Her hair is partly loose, partly braided. Her proper left hand grasps folds of her dress. Her proper right arm encircles the neck of a white bull having a floral wreath around his neck and a floral swag (or another part of the wreath) over the top of his head. A flat, blue horizon line at far (viewer's) right suggests the sea, while green and white froth beneath the bull shows that the animal has already plunged chest-deep into it. The blue sky is interspersed with clouds.The frame currently (2008) on the picture dates to the same approximate period as the painting but is not original to it. The frame is accessioned and described separately as 1974-115, which acc. no. see. The frame that was received on the picture in 1973 was determined to be a later replacement. It was removed and stored separately, as 1992-45,B, which acc. no. see.
Label TextArtist Matthew Pratt's struggle to establish himself in his native Philadelphia was boosted by trips to England in 1764 and 1770. Probably it was during the second visit that he painted this copy of Guido Reni’s ca. 1636 depiction of Jupiter disguised as a bull and cavorting with his consort, Europa.
This painting is one of several old master copies Pratt exhibited at Williamsburg’s Kings Arms Tavern in 1773. He had limited success with sales. Neither Jupiter and Europa nor his Portrait of St. Jerome after Antonio da Correggio sold in Williamsburg: Pratt still owned both at his death in 1805.
ProvenanceInformation from a wide variety of file sources differs in relatively minor details but effectively documents a line of descent from the artist to William H. Cameron, III, who was CWF's source. One plausible line: From the artist to his daughter, Mrs. William Fennell (Mary Pratt)(1771-1849); to her daughters, they being Maria Fennell (ca. 1800-1880, d. unmarried), Mrs. Arundius Tiers II (Anna Matilda Fennell, ca. 1809-1854), and Susan Fennell (?-?, d. unmarried); to Anna Matilda Fennell Tiers's daughter, Mrs. Charles P. Jackson (Rosalie Vallance Tiers)(1849-1944); to her brother, LaRue Tiers (1846-1931); to his daughter, Mrs. William H. Cameron, Sr. (Susan Vallance Tiers)(1880-1968); to her son, William H. Cameron, Jr. (1906-1971); to his widow, Mrs. William H. Cameron, Jr. (Marianne Chase)(1908-1973); to her son, William H. Cameron III, who was CWF's source.
ca. 1835
ca. 1840
1860-1880
ca. 1725
