Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The Judgment of Paris (1808)

Francois-Xavier Fabre: The Judgment of Paris 

The Judgment of Paris was one of the most popular mythological themes for painters for centuries. It concerns an incident where Hermes asked the mortal Paris to judge the beauty of three goddesses: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite - a perilous choice indeed. The ultimate result of this divine beauty contest was the Trojan War.

A small sample of the many paintings done of this incident is below.

 'Master of the Argonaut Panels' (ca. 1480)
 
 Anonymous Flemish Painter (16th century)
 
 Frans Floris (1550)
 
 Jacob Jordaens (ca. 1620–25)
 
 Peter Paul Rubens
 
 Claude Lorraine (1645-46)
[Lorraine was primarily a landscape artist.
The figures seem almost incidental here.]
 
 Noel-Nicolas Coypel (1728)
 
 Anton Raphael Mengs (ca. 1757)
 
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1914)

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