Paris with the Apple
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 11 × 7.2 cm (4 5/16 × 2 13/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Anonymous gift in memory of Charles B. Hoyt
Accession Number
1950.2.1
Art Historical Context
This small engraving, created by an anonymous Netherlandish artist between 1501 and 1550, depicts the Trojan prince Paris holding the golden apple central to the ancient Greek myth of the Judgment Paris. Once attributed to the Flemish engraver Abraham de Bruyn, the work reflects the Northern Renaissance fascination with classical mythology, which Northern European artists reinterpreted through a distinctly local lens. The compact size—roughly the dimensions of a playing card—suggests it was designed for intimate viewing, perhaps as part of a collector’s album or as an illustration for printed ...