Het oordeel van Paris

About this artwork

collector's mark: Lugt 240

Art Historical Context

Behold the intricate engraving *Het Oordeel van Paris* ( Judgment of Paris) by Marco Dente, a masterful Italian printmaker active in the early 16th century (c. 1498–1532). This work captures the timeless mythological scene from classical antiquity, where the Trojan prince Paris must choose the fairest goddess among Hera, Athena, Aphrodite— a decision that sparked the Trojan War. Dente's composition, measuring 292 mm high by 433 mm wide, showcases the High Renaissance ideal of harmonious beauty and dynamic figures, likely inspired by designs from masters like Raphael, whom he emulated as a pupi...

About the Artist

Marco Dente · 1515–1527

Marco Dente (died 1527), also known as Marco da Ravenna, was among the most accomplished printmakers working in Rome during the High Renaissance, a period that witnessed an extraordinary flowering of engraving as both a reproductive and an independent artistic medium. Little is known of his early training, but by the second decade of the sixteenth century he had established himself in the orbit of...