1 The Judgment of Paris By Peter Paul Rubens

2 The Judgment of Paris

3 Outline  Introduction  Part I. Paul Rubens  Part II. The Flemish School  Part III. The Judgment of Paris  Conclusion  References

4 Introduction  There are two painting by Rubens called The Judgment of Paris (c. 1625; Oil on canvas, 139 x 174 cm; National Gallery, London ) and The Judgment of Paris (c. 1639; Oil on panel, 199 x 379 cm; Museo del Prado, Madrid)  We will present the second one in this file (about the first version) version  Rubens, of the Flemish school, is considered to be the greatest painter of the 17 th century  The Judgment of Paris is certainly one of the most famous paintings of the Baroque period

5 Part I. Paul Rubens  Rubens, Peter Paul ( ), Flemish painter, considered the most important of the 17th century  His style came to define the animated, exuberantly sensuous aspects of baroque painting  Combining the bold brushwork, luminous color, and shimmering light of the Venetian school with the vigor of the art of Michelangelo and the formal dynamism of Hellenistic sculpture, Rubens created a vibrant style  Rubens traveled to Italy, the center of European art for the previous two centuries.

6 Part I. Paul Rubens  In 1600 he arrived in Venice, where he was particularly inspired by the paintings of Titian, Paolo Veronese, and Tintoretto. Later, while living in Rome, he was influenced by the works of Michelangelo and Raphael, as well as by ancient Greco-Roman sculpture  Rubens was exposed to the early baroque works of contemporary Italian painters Carracci and Caravaggio  Rubens also served as a mentor to the young Spanish painter Diego Velázquez  In 1629, Rubens was knighted by a grateful King Charles I of England

7 Part II. The Flemish School  The Flemish painter Jan van Eyck, however, was the founder of Renaissance painting in Flanders and the NetherlandsJan van Eyck  What makes his art and that of most 15th-century northern masters different from the art of their Italian contemporaries is the complete absence of references to classical antiquity  Rubens is often called Prince of Baroque painters. In his style he successfully united the features of Northern and Flemish art with those of Italy  He also gave the world the great number of pupils, the celebrated artists van Dyck ( ), Jordaens, Snyders and Cornelis de Vos are among themvan Dyck

8 The Judgment of Paris

9 Part III. The Judgment of Paris  Peter Paul Rubens. The Judgment of Paris. c Oil on canvas. Museo del Prado (Oil on panel, 199 x 379 cm )  Three goddesses, Athena, Hera and Aphrodite quarreled over a golden apple with a sign that it should belong to the most beautiful among them  No one wanted to take a task of choosing between three goddesses. Zeus therefore sent them off to Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy  Paris decided in favor of Aphrodite, who had promised him the most beautiful mortal woman, Helen, the wife of Menelaus

10 Part III. The Judgment of Paris  The Greek playwright Aeschylus called Helen 'destroyer of ships, destroyer of men, destroyer of cities'. The result of Paris' decision was the Trojan War  Priam was the king of Troy. Paris, Hector, Cassandra and Ganymede are his children  The scene is that of Lucian's Dialogs of the Gods # 20  Clearly the young man wearing rich attire mixed with animal skins is Paris, the shepherd formerly known as prince, and Hermes stands beside him  The woman closest to the two is clearly Athena, as the armor (and perhaps the virginal white clothing) suggests

11 Part III. The Judgment of Paris  The woman on the far right of the picture is Juno, and the dark blue (or purple) velvet is appropriate for the queen of the gods  Aphrodite is in the middle. The radiance emanating from her head may suggest the power she exerts on Paris to win, or may be the indicator of her victory  Her red attire seems appropriate for the goddess of passion and love  There seems little suggestion of the disaster to come here, unless it might be the grey clouds in the sky, or the dog, who knows better than his master what is happening

12 Conclusion  Luxuriant color, glowing light and shade, sensuous brushwork, and an elegant composition all serve to further the meaning of the narrative: Paris's selection of the most beautiful goddess  The vitality and eloquence of the work of Rubens continued to influence such artists as Jean-Antoine Watteau in the early 18th century and Eugène Delacroix and Pierre Auguste Renoir in the 19th century  Jean-Antoine Watteau painted The Judgment of Paris in the 18 th century Rococo style and Jacques-Louis David painted The Love of Paris and Helen in the Neoclassical styleThe Judgment of Paris The Love of Paris and Helen

13 References  ph.html ph.html  _septiembre_2001.html _septiembre_2001.html  ent2.htm ent2.htm  ticle.aspx?refid= &para=38#p38 ticle.aspx?refid= &para=38#p38