Between 1552–1562, Titian painted the poesie , a series of eroticized mythologies commissioned by Philip II of Spain. Titian’s depiction of the Rape of Europa (1559–1562), drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses , was a radical departure from classical, medieval, and Renaissance interpretations of the myth. Europa’s awkward and highly sexualized pose on the back of the bull-god deviated wildly from pictorial conventions and was an iconographic anomaly within the visual tradition. This essay examines Europa’s suggestive posture within the context of sixteenth-century social politics and the issues surrounding proper female deportment. It argues that Europa was the antithesis of the feminine ideal and challenged the cultural constraints of female sexuality and definitions of feminine beauty in the Renaissance. Ultimately, the author asserts that Titian wantonly mocked theoretical conventions of decorum for the sake of erotic expression and for the private pleasure of Europa’s intended male viewer, Philip II of Spain.
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