The Judgment of Paris
We know from a letter from his friend, the painter Pierre Narcisse Guérin, sent from the Villa Medici in Rome, on August 8, 1804 that Gérard had begun working on a painting depicting The Judgment of Paris, a mythological tale that appears in Homer’s Iliad, in which the Trojan prince Paris judges the beauty of three goddesses, ultimately awarding the golden apple to Venus in return for her gift of Helen of Sparta. Paris’s abduction of the Spartan queen would set off the Trojan War. Gérard became frustrated with his canvas and destroyed it in 1812, salvaging only a few small fragments. This study is a record of Gérard’s composition.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Judgment of Paris
- Artist: baron François Gérard (French, Rome 1770–1837 Paris)
- Date: ca. 1804–12
- Medium: Graphite; squared in graphite
- Dimensions: Sheet: 7 1/2 in. × 9 in. (19.1 × 22.9 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Gift of Roberta J.M. Olson and Alexander B.V. Johnson, 2021
- Object Number: 2021.375.2
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
baron François Gérard
19th century
Collection des Portraits Historiques De M. Le Baron Gérard, Gravées a L'Eau-forte par M. Pierre Adam
Multiple artists/makers
1826
baron François Gérard
Charles Simon Pradier
1812
Multiple artists/makers
1800
baron François Gérard
Alexis François Girard
1827
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.