Judgment of Paris
1610–42
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 9/16 x 8 11/16 in. (16.7 x 22.1cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
Accession Number
28.28.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intricate etching *Judgment of Paris*, by French artist Pierre Breiette between 1610 1642, viewers encounter a timeless classical myth reimagined through the lens of early 17th-century printmaking. The scene depicts Paris, the Trojan prince, tasked with awarding a golden apple to the fairest goddess among Juno, Venus, and Minerva a pivotal moment from Greek mythology that sparked the Trojan War. Brebiette populates the composition with graceful female nudes representing the goddesses, a central male figure as Paris, and symbolic animals like the majestic peacock associated with Juno, bl...
About the Artist
Pierre Brebiette · 1598–1642
Pierre Brébiette (c. 1598–c. 1642) was a French painter and etcher whose elegant, sensuous treatment of classical mythology and allegory earned him a significant reputation in early seventeenth-century Paris. Born in Mantes-sur-Seine, Brébiette traveled to Italy as a young man and lived and worked in Rome from around 1617 to approximately 1625, absorbing the influences of ancient sculpture, Renais...