7 YOUR COMMENTS 2004 1st half

Send your comments to p.h.gommers@skynet.be

Send me images of the European symbol of Europe and bull_Zeus

Let me know if  your comments can be made public on this website

As indicated in your book Europe's symbol is also interpreted by American artists.

Recently, we saw a beautiful albaster sculpture. Apparently, it is now in private hands.

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Bethesda, Maryland, 16_01_04Angela & Saïd Hitti

The Dutch contemporary, figurative painter Sam Drukker lives between Barcelona and The Hague. His use of brush and paint shows human figures in a very vivid and personal style. His 'Europe' shows a headstrong Europe, who needs the bull only as an expression of her own significance.

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Oil, 140-140 cm                  Sam Drukker           Europe,

From Myrte Gay-Balmaz                                                             Barcelona, february, 2004

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Literature

    Le Mythe d'Europe dans la grande histoire   by Françoise Gange

edited by La Renaissance du Livre, Tournai, 2004

This is a study into the cultural background of the origine of the myth of Europe and Zeus. It explains the abduction of Europe by Zeus transformed into a bull. Europe represents the original matriarchal era of the mother goddess earth. She forcefully, is replaced by the Greek patriarchal society with Zeus as the supreme male skygod.

Vezenobres,     Francoise Gange, 2 mars 2004

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Exposition d'antiquaires à Tournai, 2003

Showing a beautiful rococco statue-group of white porcelain-biscuit of Europe sitting on the lying bull accompanied by 5 maids of honour. The statue measures 45-23-34 cm. The group is a depiction of the painting of  Jean François Lemoi(y)ne, 1688-1737, of 1725, now in the Puschkin Museum of Moscow. A cupper engraving of Laurent Cars, 1699-1771, is shown in Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin.

The Biscuit is signed 'HRock' but there is no mark of a factory, except for a number 3340-3. The name HRock is not present in German/Austrian porcelain data. A French origin seems more obvious.

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The engraving of Laurent Cars shows in the right corner a sixth maiden not represented on the Biscuit.

Tournay, april, 2004.

Nicosia, Cyprus

The international known artist Nicos Kouroussis presented recently in Nicosia (Lefkosia) numerous interpretations of the Europa myth by electronic collage of old famous paintings of the myth as well as from artphoto's by the artist himself.

The first image is a photocollage on the basis of photos made by the artist. The modern Europa lies sunning on the beach, dreaming away. In the shadow below her the contour of a galloping bull appears. Is it a sign of coming events, or a vision of the future.

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The above photo is a mosaic of about 30 interpretations of the myth in the Medieval Kastelliotissa Hall in Lefkosia in Mai 2004. Visitors are invited to walk over the prints, like the Romans tread on their floormosaics. Symbolically, the visitors violate the mosaic like the bull violated Europa.          This  modern Europa mosaic will be exhibitioned on one of the footcrossings of the Olympic Games   in Greece this year.                                                                                                                  Lefkosia, May 25, 2004                 Gloria Kassianidou, Gloria Gallerie.                                                                                                                                                       

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Amsterdam Artfair, KunstRai, may 2004

At this KunstRai I ran into this ceramic of Europe on the bull  accompanied by a goddess, from Lies Cosijn. She is one of the first postwar artists of the Dutch free ceramic movement.

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The Hague, june 2004                               Mevr. Mr. J. Renardel de Lavalette