The Judgement of Paris, After William Etty, R.A.

‘The Judgement of Paris’ - A Large Oil Painting after William Etty, R.A. (1787-1849).

English, Circa 1825. 
 
Oil on Canvas

The painting depicts the Greek mythological story of the ‘Judgement of Paris’, as told by Lucian in the 'Judgement of the Goddesses'.

Paris the son of King Priam of Troy had to decide which of the three goddesses was the most beautiful: Aphrodite, Hera or Athena.  He chose Aphrodite  and awarded her a golden apple. The jealousy and indignation of the others precipitated the Trojan War.

Hera with her symbolic attribute the Peacock, stands with her back to the viewer turning shocked and angry as she is spurned;  Athena stands resolute with her armour and spear resigned to Paris’s decision;  Aphrodite with her son Cupid at her side feigns modesty and accepts the apple from his hand.  The tension of the painting lies not only in the turning or rotation of the three central figures within the foreground but in the depiction of the stormy sky and the looming presence of the Fury, Alecto.  

William Etty (b York, 10 Mar. 1787; d York, 13 Nov. 1849), is renowned as a painter of mythological or historical subjects, sometimes on an ambitious scale, but nearly always with daring nude figures.  

He spent most of his career in London, where he trained at the Royal Academy Schools and then (1807-8) with Lawrence, who had a great influence on him; this was later modified by the impact of Venetian art, which he admired on a lengthy tour of France and Italy in 1822-4.

Dimensions

Price on application

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

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