It is not just the empty seascape on the left as compared with the dark richness of the forest on the right. The left half of the painting contains the subject of the painting after all -- Europa and the Bull. It is Rembrandt's genius to have the drama of Europa and the Bull taking place in the lower left corner of a very large painting, almost as though the moment of drama is on its way out, and the viewer is lucky to have caught it. But it is also clever how Rembrandt essentially balances the canvas with two central subjects, equally illuminated from...
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