The Judgement of Paris

Title

[cda 2016]

Painting on oak wood

Medium

Painting on oak wood

[examination report Peter Klein, 2009]

According to classical mythology the Goddess of Discord inscribed an apple with the words 'the most beautiful' and this became the source of dispute among the Goddesses. Even Jupiter, the father of the Gods, did not wish to arbitrate and instead sent Mercury, the messenger of the Gods, to the Trojan prince Paris. He should choose between the Goddesses, and these then solicited his affection with their promises: Juno offered him power, Minerva promised him wisdom and Venus promised the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris gave the apple to Venus, who helped him to abduct the married woman, Helen, and this provoked the Trojan War. On this panel the moralising subject, which reflects on the consequences of every decision, has been shifted to the present with the protagonists wearing 16th century clothes and jewellery.

[Herrschaft, cda 2016]

Attributions: Follower of Lucas Cranach the Elder
Circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Follower of Lucas Cranach the Elder	[unpublished examination report G. Heydenreich, Nov 2009]
Circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder	[letter D. Koepplin in the Archive D. Koepplin, 2010] [handwritten annotation W. Schade on the reverse of a photograph in the Archive D. Koepplin, 2009]

Production date: after 1540

Production date

after 1540

[examination report Peter Klein, 2009]
[letter D. Koepplin in the Archive D. Koepplin, 2010]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 50.5 x 34 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 50.5 x 34 cm
[examination report Peter Klein, 2009]

Signature / Dating: None

Inscriptions and Labels

on the reverse: in white chalk: 'No 47'
[photograph in the Archive D. Koepplin, c. 2010]

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

- on the reverse: in white chalk: 'No 47'
[photograph in the Archive D. Koepplin, c. 2010]

Owner: Private Collection
Repository: Private Collection

CDA ID: PRIVATE_NONE-P148
FR (1978) Nr.: FR-none
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P148/

Provenance

private collection, Berlin
[Note by D. Koepplin on a letter in the Archive D. Koepplin, 2009]
2009, Charles Beddington Limited, London
[Letter from Charles Beddington Limited, in the Archive D. Koepplin, 2009]

Research History / Discussion

D. Koepplin considers this version of the Judgement of Paris, which has a very interesting iconography, to be a work by one of Cranach's best assistants, executed within or outside the Cranach workshop.

[Letter D. Koepplin in the Archive D. Koepplin, 2010]

The Judgement of Paris, after 1540

Images

Technical studies

2016 - Technical examination / Scientific analysis

Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

- a single oak wood plank (50.5 x 34 / 33.8 cm)

- 235 annual rings including 3 sapwood rings; youngest heartwood annual ring 1527

- earliest felling date: 1536, more probable: between 1540 and 1546

- with a minimum seasoning period of c. 2 years the painting could not have been created before 1538, but 1544 is more likely

[Klein Report, 2009]

07.04.2009Scientific analysis

Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

Identification of wood species: oak wood

Youngest annual ring: 1527

[Klein Report, 07.04.2009]

examined by Peter Klein

03. 2009Technical examination / Scientific analysis

UV-light photography

photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich

03. 2009Technical examination / Scientific analysis

X-radiography

created by Gunnar Heydenreich

03. 2009Technical examination / Scientific analysis

Infrared reflectography

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Material:

- dry, black drawing material, dark chalk, stylus; possibly also brush lines

Type/Ductus:

- copied or traced lines are visible to some extent (particularly in the figures of Paris and Cupid)

- fine lines

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version (where visible); some contours are defined with lines and essential details within forms are described; no representation of volume with hatching-strokes

Deviations:

- minor corrections were made to forms during the painting process; small changes (e. g. Cupid’s bow)

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- not possible

[Sandner, Smith-Contini, Heydenreich, cda 2016]

photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'The Judgement of Paris', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P148/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'The Judgement of Paris', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P148/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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