Peter Paul Rubens, 'The Judgement of Paris', probably 1632-5

Three goddesses stand before a shepherd. Mercury, the messenger god, has brought them to the young man and alighted behind him, his cloak still flying. The caduceus by which Mercury is recognised almost slips from his hand as he gazes at the goddesses. The shepherd is Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, abandoned as a baby because it was prophesied he would bring ruin to the city. He was brought up by shepherds but the gods had other plans for him.

Eris, goddess of discord, was the only immortal not invited to an important wedding. Furious at being left out, she threw a golden apple inscribed ‘To the Fairest’ among all the goddesses at the feast. Three claimed the title – Minerva, Juno and Venus. Jupiter, chief of the gods, declared that Paris should be the judge, and it is this moment of choice that Rubens has depicted.

In the version of the story by the Roman poet Lucian that Rubens used, Paris was unable to decide on a winner when the goddesses were clothed, so asked that they should disrobe. On the left, Minerva, goddess of war and wisdom, pulls her robe over her head. Her owl is perched on a tree above, her weapons are by her side. On the right, Juno, Jupiter’s wife, lifts her cloak to one side. At her feet, the peacock by which she is recognised reaches forward with a hiss at the sheepdog lying at the young shepherd’s feet. For Paris hands the golden apple to Venus, goddess of love, in the centre. She wears her tokens, pearls and roses, in her hair. Her little son, Cupid, god of erotic love, crouches on the ground behind her. Venus clutches her robe to her breast as if surprised she has won, but the goddesses had all cheated. Juno offered Paris wealth and power, Minerva offered wisdom and strength. Venus promised him the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, who was married to King Menelaus of Sparta – an irresistible gift.

Rubens has turned the story into a rural idyll, with a far-reaching landscape set in the soft evening sun. The three nude figures each show a different aspect of the female form, painted with a sensitive, almost tender understanding of the body in various states of subtly conveyed emotion. The textures of silk, velvet, feathers and hair brushing against pale flesh glowing in the light are Rubens at his sensual best. Only a few grey clouds and the reflection of the gorgon Medusa with the snakes in her hair in Minerva’s mirror disturb the scene, suggesting that peace won’t last.

And Juno made sure there was no happy ending. Almost hidden in the clouds above the heads of the figures here is the implacable Fury, Alecto. In a jealous rage, Juno commanded her to wreak havoc on the Trojans. She caused Paris to abduct Helen, and the famous Trojan War began.