Europa on the Bull
Ca. 1910
Zeus really knew how to pull off a disguise in this lush, dreamy scene. The giant white bull, adorned with flowers, looks so gentle resting in the wildflowers that the women can't resist petting him and climbing on his back. It's the ultimate mythological bait-and-switch: the woman riding him, Europa, is about to be carried off across the sea to Crete. Ferdinand Leeke painted this around 1910, turning a kidnapping story into a soft, romantic summer day that almost makes you forget the bull is actually a god in disguise.
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