The Judgment of Paris
Artist/Maker
Jacob Jordaens
(Flanders, 1593-1678)
Dateca. 1620-1625
Mediumoil on canvas
DimensionsSight: 34 1/2 x 44 1/2 in. (87.6 x 113 cm)
Framed: 48 x 59 x 3 1/2 in. (121.9 x 149.9 x 8.9 cm)
Framed: 48 x 59 x 3 1/2 in. (121.9 x 149.9 x 8.9 cm)
ClassificationsVisual Works
Credit LineGift of The Samuel H. Kress Foundation
Terms
Object number61.046.000
DescriptionLike his great Flemish contemporary, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Jordaens developed a highly naturalistic Baroque style characterized by a dynamic mode of presentation, a painterly approach to form, vivid coloring, and the rich effects of texture. However, in contrast with Ruben’s reliance on idealized, classicizing figures, Jordaens generally used native, commonplace models, most often members of his own family. Here, for example, the three nude goddesses – Aphrodite (to the right of Paris), Hera (in the center), and Athena (shown from the back) – as well as the female personification of Abundance holding aloft a larger cornucopia, are believed to be representations of Jordaens’s young wife, the daughter of his former teacher, Adam van Noort. Painted early in his career, during the period when Jordaens worked as an associate in Rubens’s workshop, The Judgment of Paris illustrates the important moment in classical history when the shepherd Paris, called upon by Zeus to decide who among three goddesses was to receive the golden apple inscribed “for the fairest,” awarded the fruit to Aphrodite, thereby precipitating the Trojan War.Visual Description
This horizontal canvas features a cast of subjects including three nude goddesses, one of whom accepts a golden apple from an awe-struck shepherd. The goddesses stand near the center of the canvas awash in brilliant light, the staring shepherd seated at our left. The gifting of the apple is watched by many in the painting including a nude, winged cherub standing beneath the apple, and a God who stands behind the cherub. Draped in blue fabric, the God wears a straw hat with small white wings. Looking on from our right of the goddesses are two horned and red-faced satyrs; a lounging woman holding a cornucopia bouquet overflowing with fruits and flowers; and a balding older man with a flute and gray beard.
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