Oordeel van Paris in omlijsting van rolwerk 1566

This is Pieter van der Heyden’s "Oordeel van Paris in omlijsting van rolwerk", an engraving made around 1565, now at the Rijksmuseum. The print presents a central scene framed by elaborate scrollwork. Note how the density of the lines create contrasts in texture, heightening the visual interest. The scrollwork teems with figures—cherubs, satyrs, and grotesque masks—revealing a world of symbolic forms. The Judgment of Paris is centered in the composition, but look at how it is enmeshed within a larger, decorative structure. This creates a tension between the classical narrative and the Mannerist aesthetic. The text at the bottom comments on the foolish judgment of Paris, thus linking the visual and the textual. Consider how the organization of space, the interplay of line and form, and the combination of classical and ornamental motifs, reflect the artistic and intellectual climate of the 16th century. The print invites us to consider the relationship between beauty, judgment, and the very structures of representation itself.