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Jan Both and Cornelis van Poelenburgh, 'A Landscape with the Judgement of Paris', about 1645-50

About the work

Overview

This appears to depict a moment of bliss: an idyllic landscape, painted in an Italianate style by Jan Both, is suffused with the warm glow of a summer’s evening. In the foreground a group of elegantly poised nudes, added by Both’s collaborator Cornelis van Poelenburgh, catches the sunlight.

But this is no idyll, and we are witnessing a tragic turning point in mythological history: the Judgement of Paris. Jupiter has asked Paris to judge which of three goddesses – Juno, Minerva and Venus – is the most beautiful. Paris chooses Venus by handing her a golden apple. As a reward she promises him Helen, the beautiful wife of a Greek king. Helen’s abduction leads to the Trojan wars and the destruction of Troy.

Van Poelenburgh and Both had studied in Italy before they returned to Utrecht and were part of a group of Dutch artists who created a taste among their patrons for Italianate landscape painting.

Key facts

Details

Full title
A Landscape with the Judgement of Paris
Artist dates
about 1615 - 1652; 1594/5 - 1667
Date made
about 1645-50
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
97 × 129 cm
Inscription summary
Signed
Acquisition credit
Bequeathed by Richard Simmons, 1847
Inventory number
NG209
Location
Room 29
Collection
Main Collection
Frame
19th-century English Frame

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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