The Judgment Of Paris 

Curator: Oh, there is definitely a soft erotic charge here, and a bit of theatrical excess with a dash of gender politics! It feels…complicated. Editor: Indeed! This artwork appears to depict “The Judgement of Paris.” Curator: Right, the infamous beauty contest, as painted apparently by Jean-Marc Nattier. Immediately, my eye goes to Paris, reclining in what seems to be deep deliberation. Is he judging, or being judged himself? Editor: I am drawn to the peacock, an animal with associations to Juno, positioned near a reclining male figure who’s physique is as earth-bound and rough as hers is light. The contrast draws the eye! The artist uses established symbols to amplify meaning, even playfully! Curator: Juno as symbolic of social conventions feels very poignant. Consider the larger societal implications of beauty standards and the power dynamics at play here. Three goddesses, naked before a man to be appraised like commodities. Editor: Consider the use of light; notice the cloud of cherubs drawing a line to Venus. But she already knows that, of course. Look how the light gently illuminates the contours of her flesh. A fascinating continuation of classical tropes into this era. The serpent as a representation of time itself makes it timeless. Curator: Agreed, the scene has the softness typical of Rococo, the very period within which gender was being newly problematized in philosophical thought. We need to acknowledge how art becomes a vehicle for both perpetuating and subverting prevailing notions. Are the cherubs agents in Aphrodite's ploy? And the figures, so white, so seemingly removed from material reality—what are they concealing, or revealing, about their era’s politics and colonial realities? Editor: A valid question to contemplate the role of classical themes for Nattier’s society. What is lasting? Is it the human form, as perfected by Aphrodite in this picture? Or the power to select beauty? In any event, I leave with new questions. Curator: As do I! Perhaps now, visitors can reflect on the painting, aware of beauty's historical burdens.