The Judgement of Paris (Rubens)

The Judgement of Paris

Artist	Peter Paul Rubens
Year	c. 1636
Dimensions	144.8 cm × 193.7 cm (57.0 in × 76.3 in)
Location	National Gallery, London

The Judgement of Paris

Artist	Peter Paul Rubens
Year	1638-1639
Dimensions	199 cm × 379 cm (78 in × 149 in)
Location	Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Judgement of Paris refers to any of the several paintings of the Judgement of Paris produced by Peter Paul Rubens, though he did not match the 22 depictions of the subject attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder. The large versions of 1636 in London and 1639 in Madrid are among the best known. These both show Rubens' version of idealised feminine beauty, with the goddesses Aphrodite, Athena and Hera on one side and Paris accompanied by Hermes on the other. The 1636 version has a depiction of Cupid at the far left and Alecto above the goddesses, whilst the 1639 version adds a Cupid between Hera (far right) and Aphrodite (centre).

1636 version[]

This version follows the story as narrated in Lucian's 'Judgement of the Goddesses'. It shows the award of the golden apple, though alterations show Rubens first painted an earlier point in the story, when the goddesses are ordered to undress by Mercury.^[1] It was bought for the National Gallery in London in 1844.

1638 version[]

Painted in 1638 or 1639, this version is now in the Prado and was completed shortly before his death while he was ill with gout. It was commissioned by Philip IV of Spain's brother Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria and on Ferdinand's death moved to the Spanish royal collection. In 1788 Charles III of Spain decided it was immodest and ordered it to be burned, but he died before that order could be carried out.^[2]

Other versions[]

1597-1600, 144.8 cm (57 in) x 193.7 cm (76.2 in), National Gallery
c. 1606, oil on panel, 89 x 114.5 cm, Prado
oil sketch on copper, 1606, 32.5 cm (12.7 in) x 43.5 cm (17.1 in), Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna
1636, 49 cm (19.2 in) x 63 cm (24.8 in), Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, probably earlier than the similar London painting

References[]

^ [1] Archived September 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^ (in Catalan) Monreal, Luis. La Pintura en los Grandes Museos, 1982. ISBN 84-320-0460-X

v t Peter Paul Rubens
Paintings and drawings	The Descent from the Cross (1600–1602) Leda and the Swan (1601, 1602) The Deposition (1602) Self-Portrait in a Circle of Friends from Mantua (1602–1605) Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma (1603) Portrait of a Young Woman (1603) Hercules and Omphale (1603) Heraclitus and Democritus (1603) Virgin and Child (c. 1604) The Fall of Phaeton (c. 1604/1605) The Baptism of Christ (1604–1605) The Gonzaga Family in Adoration of the Holy Trinity (1604–1605) Transfiguration (1604–1605) The Circumcision (1605) Portrait of Marchesa Brigida Spinola-Doria (1606) Portrait of a Noblewoman with a Dwarf (1606) Portrait of Giovanni Carlo Doria on Horseback (1606) Madonna della Vallicella (1606–1608) Susanna and the Elders (1607) Adoration of the Magi (Prado) (1609; 1628–29) Samson and Delilah (1609–10) Honeysuckle Bower (1609–10) Coronation of the Virgin (1609-1611) Juno and Argus (1610) Raising of the Cross (1610–11) Conversion of Saint Paul (1610–1612) Massacre of the Innocents (c. 1611) Venus Frigida (1611) Prometheus Bound (1611–12) The Four Philosophers (1611–12) Antwerp Resurrection (1611–12) Visitation (ca. 1611–1615) Roman Charity (1612) Ecce Homo (1612) Descent from the Cross (1612–1614) Saint Teresa of Ávila's Vision of the Holy Spirit (1612–1614) Saint Teresa of Ávila's Vision of the Holy Spirit (c.1614) The Tribute Money (1612–1614) The Defeat of Sennacherib (1612–1614) The Four Continents (1610s) Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter (1612–1614) Portrait of a Commander (1613) The Crowning of the Virtuous Hero (1613–14) The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (1613–1615) The Death of Adonis (1614) Venus and Adonis (1614) St Sebastian (c. 1614) Madonna della Cesta (1615) Ixion, King of the Lapiths, Deceived by Juno, Who He Wished to Seduce (1615) Daniel in the Lions' Den (1615) Bacchanalia (c. 1615) The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt (1615–16) The Tiger Hunt (1615–16) Theodosius and Saint Ambrose (1615–16) Florence Resurrection (1616) The Virgin and Child Surrounded by the Holy Innocents (1616) Erichthonius Discovered by the Daughters of Cecrops (c. 1616) The Wolf and Fox Hunt (c. 1616) The Lion and Leopard Hunt (c. 1616) Romulus and Remus (1615–16) Saint Stephen Triptych (1616–17) Two Women with a Candle (1616–17) Descent from the Cross (1616–17) The Meeting Between Abraham and Melchizedek (1616–17) Christ and the Penitent Sinners (1617) Mars and Rhea Silvia (1617) The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (1617) The Great Last Judgement (1617) A Bearded Man (c. 1617–18) Adoration of the Magi (Lyon) (1617–18) The Five Senses (1617–18) Two Satyrs (1618) Medusa (1618) The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus (c. 1618) Christ Triumphant over Sin and Death (c. 1618) The Prodigal Son (1618) The Union of Earth and Water (c. 1618) Tigress with Her Cubs (1618) (attributed) Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee (1618–1620) St Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy (1619–20) The Small Last Judgement (1619) Conversion of Saint Paul (1620s) The Fall of the Damned (ca. 1620) Landscape with Philemon and Baucis (ca. 1620) Portrait of a Young Man in Armor (ca. 1620) Saint George and the Dragon (c. 1620) Perseus Freeing Andromeda (1620) Saints Dominic and Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger (1620) The Virgin Mary and Saint Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger The Rape of Orithyia by Boreas (1620) Christ on the Cross (1620) The Three Graces (1620–1623) Isabella Brant (c. 1621) The Lion Hunt (1621) Marie de' Medici cycle (1621–1630) Portrait of Susanna Lunden (1622) Perseus and Andromeda (c. 1622) The History of Constantine (1622–1625) Self-Portrait (1623) The Conversion of Saint Bavo (1623–24) Diana and Her Nymphs Leaving for the Hunt (1623–24) Adoration of the Magi (Antwerp) (1624) The Reconciliation of Esau and Jacob (1624) Christ Appointing Saint Roch as Patron Saint of Plague Victims (1623–1626) Portrait of Infante Isabella Clara Eugenia (1625) Portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (c. 1625) The Triumph of the Church (1635) Assumption of the Virgin Mary (1625–26) Angelica and the Hermit (c. 1626–1628) Henry IV at the Battle of Ivry (1627) The Triumphal Entry of Henry IV into Paris (1627) The Annunciation (1627–28) The Fall of Man (1628–29) The Rape of Europa (1628–29) Minerva Protecting Peace from Mars (1629–30) Cimon and Pero (1630) Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (c. 1630) The Crowning of Saint Catherine (1631) The Ildefonso Altarpiece (1630–31) Last Supper (1630–31) Odysseus on the Island of the Phaecians (1630–1635) The Finding of Erichthonius (1632–1634) The Garden of Love (c. 1633) Adoration of the Magi (Cambridge) (1634) The Dance of the Villagers (1635) Helena Fourment with Her Son Frans (1635) Venus and Adonis (1635) The Feast of Venus (1635-1636) The Village Fête (1635–1638) Mercury and Argus (1635–1638) Hercules's Dog Discovers Purple Dye (c. 1636) Helena Fourment with Children (1636) A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning (1636) Saturn (1636) The Rainbow Landscape (1636) Het Pelsken (1636–1638) The Birth of the Milky Way (c. 1637) Consequences of War (c. 1638) Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides / Deianira Listens to Fame (1638) The Three Graces (1636–1638) The Rape of Ganymede (1636–1638) Diana and Callisto (1637–38) Helena Fourment with a Carriage (1638) Self-Portrait (1638–39) Bacchus (1638–1640) The Rape of the Sabine Women (1639-1640) The Peasants Returning From The Fields (1640) Judgment of Paris (various)
Tapestries	The History of Constantine (1622–1640) (with Pietro da Cortona)
Books	Palazzi di Genova (1622)
Museums	Rubenshuis
People	Rubens family Isabella Brant (first wife) Helena Fourment (second wife) Nicolaas Rubens, Lord of Rameyen (son) Albert Rubens (son) Jan Rubens (father) Maria Pypelinckx (mother) Philip Rubens (brother) Tobias Verhaecht (teacher) Adam van Noort (teacher) Otto van Veen (teacher) Nicolaas Rockox (friend)
Related	Poussinists and Rubenists Rubens (1977 film) Rubenesque Rubens' Europe (exhibition)