The Consul Smith collection included a large group of paintings by Zuccarelli of which this highly finished small work on copper is possibly one of the finest examples. The feminine subject-matter and sensuous treatment of these this picture suggests that it might have been commissioned by Smith as decoration for his wife's apartments in the Palazzo Balbi (now Mangilli-Valmarana) on the Grand Canal. Smith was to have an important influence upon the young Zuccarelli's career, also commissioning him to paint eleven overdoors in collaboration with Antonio Visentini.

Zuccarelli arrived in Venice from his native Florence in about 1730 and by the end of the decade his landscape paintings were reaching England - possibly via the Consul. In 1752 the artist visited England, where he was to remain for a decade, returning again from c.1764 until c.1771. In 1768 he was one of the founder-members of the Royal Academy and in 1771 he received a direct commission from George III for two large paintings (costing £428 8s). Twenty-seven paintings by Zuccarelli, together with eight works made in collaboration with Visentini, survive in the Royal Collection.

The Rape of Europa was a popular subject in painting from the sixteenth century onwards. As recounted in Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book II, Jupiter falls in love with Europa and abducts her in the form of a bull. While the subject has appeared in art since antiquity, the sexual violence inherent, or alluded to, in some of the depictions is something that can now be unsettling to modern viewers. In this painting, Zuccarelli concentrates on the earlier part of the tale in which Europa's handmaidens decorate the beautiful white bull with garlands of flowers - here aided by Cupid. In the distance Europa can be seen being carried off by the bull, which is led by Cupid. However, the drama of the tale as told by Ovid is ignored in Zuccarelli's painting, which concentrates on the gentle pastoral nature of the scene. The artist painted many versions of the story throughout his career.

This painting hung in Princess Amelia's bedroom at Kew c.1800. In the same room were a number of other pictures purchased from Joseph Smith, such as Sebastiano Ricci's Sacrifice of Polyxena and Canaletto's Caprice view of Rome with ruins based on the Forum. Apart from these paintings and a group of four landscapes, the room also contained Zoffany's portrait of the Princess's family in Van Dyck costume.

Catalogue entry adapted from George III & Queen Charlotte: Patronage, Collecting and Court Taste, London, 2004