''The Judgement of Paris'' refers to any of the several paintings of the

Judgement of Paris The Judgement of Paris is a story from Greek mythology, which was one of the events that led up to the Trojan War, and in later versions to the foundation of Rome. Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Th ...

produced by

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

, though he did not match the 22 depictions of the subject attributed to

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder ( ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German ...

. There were versions before about 1606, then he returned to the subject thirty years later; all take the opportunity to show nude females from different angles. 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 Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

and

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

on one side and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

accompanied by

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

on the other. The 1636 version has a depiction of

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

at the far left and Alecto above the goddesses, whilst the 1639 version adds a Cupid between Hera (far right) and Aphrodite (centre). Paris is a misplaced Trojan prince working as a

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

, and is accompanied by his sheepdog; his sheep are seen behind the figures in these late paintings.

1636 version

This version follows the story as narrated in

Lucian Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridi ...

'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. This had been shown in at least one of the early group (now in the Prado), with

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University ...

pulling off the goddess' clothes. The painting was bought for the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

in London in 1844. There is a similar version, also of 1636 (perhaps the first to be painted), in the

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister The (, ''Old Masters Gallery'') in Dresden, Germany, displays around 750 paintings from the 15th to the 18th centuries. It includes major Italian Renaissance painting, Italian Renaissance works as well as Dutch Golden Age painting, Dutch and F ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. This is less than half the size, and has three

rather than one.

1638 version

Painted in 1638 or 1639, this version is now in the

Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and was completed shortly before his death while he was ill with

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

. It was commissioned by

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

's brother

Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand (also known as Don Fernando de Austria, Cardenal-Infante Fernando de España and as Ferdinand von Österreich; 16 May 1609 – 9 November 1641) was a Spanish and Portuguese prince (Infante of Spain, Infante of Portugal (u ...

and on Ferdinand's death moved to the

Spanish royal collection The Spanish royal collection of art was almost entirely built up by the monarchs of the Habsburg family who ruled Spain from 1516 to 1700, and then the House of Bourbon, Bourbons (1700–1868, with a brief interruption). They included a number of ...

. In 1788

Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

decided it was immodest and ordered it to be burned, but he died before that order could be carried out. Monreal, Luis. La Pintura en los Grandes Museos, 1982.

Other versions

File:Peter Paul Rubens - The Judgment of Paris - WGA20307.jpg, 1597-1600, 144.8 cm (57 in) x 193.7 cm (76.2 in),

File:Peter Paul Rubens - The Judgement of Paris, c.1606 (Museo del Prado).jpg, c. 1606, oil on panel, 89 x 114.5 cm,

; putti strip the goddesses File:Peter Paul Rubens - The Judgement of Paris - WGA20277.jpg,

oil sketch An oil sketch or oil study is an artwork made primarily in oil paint in preparation for a larger, finished work. Originally these were created as preparatory studies or modelli, especially so as to gain approval for the design of a larger commiss ...

on copper, 1606, 32.5 cm (12.7 in) x 43.5 cm (17.1 in), Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna File:Peter Paul Rubens - The Judgment of Paris (1630s).jpg, 1636, 49 cm (19.2 in) x 63 cm (24.8 in), Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, probably earlier than the similar London painting

References

*"NG 1636"
"The Judgement of Paris, Peter Paul Rubens" (1636)
National Gallery "In depth" {{DEFAULTSORT:Judgement Of Paris, The Mythological paintings by Peter Paul Rubens Paintings of Greek myths Judgment of Paris Nude paintings of women Paintings by Peter Paul Rubens in the National Gallery, London Birds in art Dogs in art Paintings of Venus